Christopher Huie’s Symphony of Sensations

Can you imagine what it feels like looking down at the earth from space? Astronaut 006, Christopher Huie, can certainly tell you. His recent voyage into space as part of the Unity 25 mission aboard Virgin Galactic’s VSS Unity on May 25, 2023 was indeed the journey of a lifetime.

“There's nothing that I've ever experienced that is as majestic and beautiful and just all consuming as viewing the Earth from space. It's like this magnetic magnificence that just pulls your full attention and you can't help but focus on it and just be in awe of its beauty. It’s a symphony of an unusual set of sensations and visuals that all kind of come together for just a really awe-inspiring and wonderful experience,” Huie marvelled, in a conversation with Caribbean Today.

The son of Jamaican immigrants, Huie proudly, and literally, wore his Jamaican heritage on his sleeve as he and fellow astronauts took off for his first flight into space. American-born and bred, he takes his Jamaican-ness seriously. In fact, he credits his Jamaican upbringing for his work ethics and outlook on life.

“My mom was born and raised in Jamaica, and she came to the US when she was a teenager to pursue more opportunities. And so I think I learned a lot from my mom based on the way she was raised. She's a very strong woman and I think it's taught me a lot about sacrifice and hard work at the same time, and the ability to just improvise and adapt to situations,” the Astronaut explained.

“My mom raised two kids as a single mom. So, what was instilled in me was hard work and strong work ethic. But also the ability to relax and have fun and not take things too seriously, and don't forget where you came from and remember to give back to others,” an emotional Huie added.

Huie made sure his mother was there to experience his first flight into space. And although it was a very tense morning for her, he wanted her by his side upon his return.

“She said to me ‘my baby's home’… It was the ultimate moment of pride for her and I was excited to have her there and really see firsthand this experience and enjoy it with me.”

SUBORBITALPhotos courtesy of Virgin Galactic

As an Aerospace Engineer and Mission Specialist Huie’s mission on VSS Unity was to ensure the readiness of the spacecraft for commercial flight. In fact, Virgin Galactic, part of the Virgin Group, is an aerospace and space travel company, the first venture developing commercial suborbital spaceflights for the thrill seeker looking to go beyond the ordinary tourist destination.

Huie, now the 19th Black astronaut in the world, explained that the Unity 25 mission was the last flight in the test program before commercial operations begin.

“I started in the role as the Mission Specialist which was going through the entire customer experience for our commercial astronauts. And so, this was kind of an evaluation of that experience and getting it ready and fine tuning the experience so that our customers have the best possible experience. It was an absolute honour to represent the company and this amazing team who's worked so hard for so many years to make this experience come to life for all of our customers in the future of commercial spaceflight.”

Asked if he always wanted to be an astronaut, Huie explained that as a youth he wanted to be a pilot, flying extreme aircraft. And of course, being a big Star Trek fan following Captain Picard on the Starship Enterprise must have helped plant a seed. As he matured, his interest took him to the world of aerospace, his passions focused on helicopters and rotorcraft. He pursued that career path for some time then opportunities kept presenting themselves landing him firmly in space as part of Virgin Galactic’s Flight Sciences Engineering team leading the External Loads Engineering discipline.

PREPARATION

But, how does one prepare to go into space, dealing with weightlessness, and the mix of emotions that surely emerges? Huie explained.

“It’s about three days of training before your flight, where you do everything from getting familiar with your spacesuit and your gear, getting familiar with the cabin, the seat, meeting your crew, your pilots, and getting familiar with the flight profile and all of the different scenarios that you need to be cognizant of. But the other major preparation point is mental preparation, because it's a big deal emotionally for you and for your family.”

Virgin Galactic is now ready for commercial space flight. According to Huie, it’s about visiting space like you would any other tourist destination.

“You're going to view the Earth and then come back. It’s so funny or ironic to think about, but right now we're all sitting on the view, we’re sitting on the product that we're selling.”

So, what’s next for Christopher Huie? He will keep pushing the envelope to see how far he can go. But importantly, his goal is to inspire the next generation. And this spaceflight was an opportunity to do just that.

In fact, the University of Maryland Clark School of Engineering graduate cofounded a scholarship program at Virgin Galactic a few years ago, Black Leadership in Aerospace Scholarship and Training (BLAST), whose mission is to guide more people of colour into science and the space industry by using the inspirational power of space to bring unity, prosperity, and equity to disenfranchised communities and people of colour, the astronaut explained.

“We stand on the shoulders of giants and we will be the shoulders of the next generation that builds upon this as we take humanity into the spacefaring species.”