WASHINGTON — An astronaut who graduated from a local high school is living on the International Space Station.
“Hello, Class of ’91 at Robinson Secondary School,” Kjell Lindgren says, giving a shoutout to his alma mater in Fairfax, Virginia.
His voice sounds remarkably clear for someone roughly 220 miles above the planet.
Lindgren tells WTOP he’s wanted to be an astronaut for as long as he can remember, but didn’t believe he’d make it to space.
“I think as I grew older,” he reflects, “the reality of it became evident that this was something that probably wouldn’t happen.”
But it did, because of great teachers, mentors and a little luck, Lindgren says.
“I think it’s great to dream to become an astronaut,” he adds. “It’s great to dream to become a doctor, engineer, scientist [or] teacher.”
Lindgren’s advice? Figure out what you want to do and start making little accomplishments every day. It worked for him.
“I was talking with my wife one night and we figured out that, by the time I finished with school, I was in 24-and-a-half grade,” Lindgren says nonchalantly.
He’s two months into a mission that will last more than five months. He expects time away from family will be the hardest part about living on the International Space Station.
But, he says that doesn’t compare to the sacrifices made by service members and their families during military deployments. In addition, Lindgren’s work might help humanity.
“I will see about 240 different experiments that range from material sciences, combustion, fundamental physics, all the way to life sciences and biomedical sciences,” Lindgren says, although his greatest area of interest and expertise involves medicine.
Microgravity impacts bodies in much of the same ways as some diseases; it can cause bone loss, cardiovascular deconditioning and muscle atrophy.
“By studying those things up here, we hope to help humanity on the ground,” Lindgren says.
Lindgren lives in Houston, Texas with his wife and three children. His parents live in Burke, Virginia.
