NASA astronaut: Send your questions to Bruce Melnick!
Bruce #Bruce
Is there anything you would like to ask a NASA astronaut?
Bruce Melnik is going to be answering your questions for Newsround!
He has spent over 300 hours in space, and orbited the earth over 200 times.
He used to be an astronaut for NASA, and now helps run the Kennedy Space Visitor Centre, in the USA.
Bruce Melnick
Bruce is no stranger to space.
Throughout his career, Bruce has worked on different satellites – including helping deploy the Ulysses satellite in orbit around the sun!
He took part in space shuttle missions in the 1990s, and was awarded several special NASA medals.
During one of his many orbits of the earth, he helped with a three-person space-walk. This was the first time three people have taken part in a space walk together!
Check out Bruce and his team, in 1990!
What is a spacewalk?
A spacewalk is the term astronauts use for heading out into space, with a suit on.
They’re attached to a ship or shuttle by a long cord, which can bring them back in if anything happens.
Spacewalks are usually done to fix the outside of ships – they happen regularly on the ISS!
Alexei Leonov was the first man to do a spacewalk in 1965, and the first woman was Svetlana Savitskaya in 1982.
Bruce now helps run the Kennedy Space Visitor centre in Florida, in the USA, alongside some other astronauts that used to work at NASA.
Members of the public can go and learn about space, and hear from people like Bruce about what it’s like to be an astronaut!
The Orion shuttle was recently launched from the Kennedy Space Centre
What kind of things could I ask him?
Do you think you want to be an astronaut when you’re older? Bruce might have some top tips!
He had a long journey to get to space – but said it was all worth it. It took him six different applications over ten years.
Maybe you want to know what earth looks like from up there – or what you have to eat in space.
Put your questions to Bruce in the comments below!