Special Forces school holds video chat with space station

Photo By Danette Baso Silvers | U.S. Army Colonel and NASA Astronaut Dr. Andrew Morgan holds up an Army Special Forces Underwater Operations School coin in the International Space Station during a video chat with the school staff and their families. Morgan is a 2002 graduate of the special forces school and is currently the flight engineer for Expeditions 60, 61 and 62 onboard the space station. SFUWO is a tenant command at Naval Air Station Key West. NAS Key West is the state-of-the-art facility for combat fighter aircraft of all military services, provides world-class pierside support to U.S. and foreign naval vessels, and is the premier training center for surface and subsurface military operations. (U.S. Navy photo by Danette Baso Silvers)  

KEY WEST, UNITED STATES

02.27.2020

Story by Danette Baso Silvers 

Naval Air Station Key West

A group of U.S. Army Special Forces Underwater Operations School staff, trainers and their families, as well as attendees from the U.S. Air Force and Naval Air Station Key West, had an opportunity to video chat with one of the school’s graduates, NASA Astronaut Andrew Morgan, Feb. 27, 2020. Morgan is currently onboard the International Space Station serving as flight engineer for Expedition 62.

Morgan is an Army colonel and emergency physician. He graduated from SFUWO in 2002. In 2013, he was selected as one of eight members of NASA’s 21st astronaut class.

“I met Col. Morgan a few years ago at SFUWO while he was in Key West for flight training as NAS Key West,” said SFUWO’s Commander Maj. James Blackburn. “We stayed in touch and he has always been incredible about sharing his experiences as an astronaut.”

Morgan arrived at the ISS in July 2019 for Expeditions 60, 61 and 62. With him were a couple of special items: a SFUWO coin and t-shirt. He wore the shirt for the video chat and viewers watched the coin float and spin in zero gravity.

The video chat lasted about 45 minutes, about the same time it takes for the space station to orbit half way around the earth. Morgan answered numerous questions from the adults and children. He answered questions about space debris, commercial spacecraft, how astronauts bathe, eat, sleep and use the bathroom in zero gravity; and experiments onboard the space station. He also participated in a knock-knock joke with a child.

When asked if he had any special memories of training in Key West, Morgan said Key West holds a special place in his heart and he looks forward to visiting again when back on earth.

“As a combat diver graduate, he wanted to share his experience at SFUWO and how the training prepared him for the challenges he’s faced as the first Army combat diver in space,” said Blackburn about Morgan. “I’m honored he took time to speak with the SFUWO instructors and their families.”

• Date Taken: 02.27.2020
• Date Posted: 02.27.2020 19:43
• Story ID: 364093
• Location: KEY WEST, US