Slashdot Mirror


Pavel Vinogradov, At 59, Sets New Record As Oldest Spacewalker

Florida today reports that cosmonaut Pavel Vinogradov on Friday became the oldest person to have completed a spacewalk. From the article: "Working outside the Russian side of the international outpost, Vinogradov and cosmonaut Roman Romanenko put in six hours and 38 minutes of high-flying maintenance work. They set up a plasma physics experiment and retrieved a package that exposed advanced spacecraft materials to the deleterious space environment. They also replaced a reflector that is part of an autonomous rendezvous and docking system that will guide a robotic European space freighter to the station in early June." NASASpaceFlight.com has more details on the spacewalk, as well as the note that Vinogradov edges out "Story Musgrave, who was 58 when he flew the Hubble SM-1 mission in 1993."

32 comments

  1. 6 hours 38 minutes by cachimaster · · Score: 1

    I don't think I can walk for 6 hours, much less spacewalk, and I'm 30. The training of those guys is amazing.

    1. Re:6 hours 38 minutes by kwerle · · Score: 2

      It's zero G's. I'm pretty sure that makes it nearly as easy as laying in bed. :-)

    2. Re:6 hours 38 minutes by Freshly+Exhumed · · Score: 1

      That's it? 6 hours 28 minutes? Linux topped that easily: the CRUX Linux ISS space walker had an uptime of 8 hours 23 minutes 26 seconds and was only shut down because of a colonel update.

      --
      I deny that I have not avoided attaining the opposite of that which I do not want.
    3. Re:6 hours 38 minutes by Black+Parrot · · Score: 2

      It's zero G's. I'm pretty sure that makes it nearly as easy as laying in bed. :-)

      Being a "Vino" probably helps too.

      --
      Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
    4. Re:6 hours 38 minutes by dunkelfalke · · Score: 1

      6 hours of walking is not difficult at all.

      --
      "It's such a fine line between stupid and clever" -- David St. Hubbins, Spinal Tap
    5. Re:6 hours 38 minutes by yahwotqa · · Score: 2

      Can't walk for 6 hours in age of 30? That's something quite abnormal, you should be able to pull that off if you're a normal, healthy 30-something.

    6. Re:6 hours 38 minutes by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Close, but not quite. "Vinograd" means grape in Russian (literally "wine grape" since there is no distinction between wine grapes and table grapes in the language).

    7. Re:6 hours 38 minutes by wonkey_monkey · · Score: 1

      Maybe he's 30 stone, not 30 years.

      --
      systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
    8. Re:6 hours 38 minutes by Charliemopps · · Score: 3, Informative

      He's in a pressurized suit. So the natural state of the suit is basically gingerbread man shaped. Every movement you make is against the natural pressure of the suit the straiten out. It's a significant workout.

    9. Re:6 hours 38 minutes by yahwotqa · · Score: 1

      Oh, my apologies. I didn't realize statues have internet access and have discovered /.

  2. Onion belt etc by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Gad yamit, you kids get off my Lagrange point! Rrrr!

    Spacewalk would have gone on even longer but he had to dash back inside for bingo.

    Left blinker on his suit was on the whole time.

    Cause he's old, see?

  3. Interesting, but does is it a universal policy? by VortexCortex · · Score: 5, Interesting

    How old is their oldest IT or software engineer employee...

    I noticed that the Canadian Astronaut, Chris Hadfield, wringing out a wet cloth in microgravity was getting gray too.

    You and I know that the Neck-Beard the Gray is a force to be reckoned with in brain power and efficiency, however Graycial discrimination is still a thing in the tech sector. I started getting gray in my 20's, now in my 30's, it's a sharp contrast to my young looking "baby face". Still, I've had folks consider my apparent age vs my skills and experience (and actual age) frequently -- On paper I look like a great candidate. Show up with gray hair? The job's suddenly not for me. I dyed my hair and my job prospects pick back up, had to turn down the job offers instead of seek them out, and the salaries I was able to negotiate were 10-15% higher. Sometimes at the same company only a few weeks later.

    Last decade I decided to be my own boss, so really I was just feeling out the market. (It's always nice to have a plan B). Still interesting to me that that here on Earth if you're getting gray so is your future, but in space no one can see your scalp.

    1. Re:Interesting, but does is it a universal policy? by Intrepid+imaginaut · · Score: 1

      I would have to support this, employers are mostly looking for younger workers that can be whipped into working like dogs for lower wages.

    2. Re:Interesting, but does is it a universal policy? by SuricouRaven · · Score: 1

      And if they can't get any locally... that's why so many companies are lobbying for more H1-B visas. There are plenty of American tech workers who'll work for peanuts, but plenty more elsewhere who'll work for just the crumbs.

    3. Re:Interesting, but does is it a universal policy? by Dr.Syshalt · · Score: 1

      Last decade I decided to be my own boss, so really I was just feeling out the market.

      Yes, it's time to become Master Jedi and be on your own. Do you complain that you're not allowed to remain a Padawan for the rest of your life? I'm 42, I'm my own boss, and no damn way I'd like to go back to being a wage slave.

  4. John Glenn by jamstar7 · · Score: 1

    Glenn was 77 when he went up in the Shuttle. If somebody would have applied the appropriate boot to his ass, HE would have taken the record for oldest astronaut taking a spacewalk as well as longest spacewalk ever...

    --
    Understanding the scope of the problem is the first step on the path to true panic.
    1. Re:John Glenn by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The rest of the Keating 535 wouldn't allow this. It would have set a an annoyingly harsh precedent for dealing with sleazy and crooked congresscritters.

    2. Re:John Glenn by dbIII · · Score: 1

      If somebody applied a boot to Glenn's ass they'd probably have to answer to Aldrin's fist.
      His encounter with a moon landing denialist is an interesting video to see even if Aldrin isn't proud of it.

    3. Re:John Glenn by wonkey_monkey · · Score: 1

      They've only budgeted for one publicity stunt per trip.

      --
      systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
    4. Re:John Glenn by jamstar7 · · Score: 1

      Good point.

      --
      Understanding the scope of the problem is the first step on the path to true panic.
    5. Re:John Glenn by jamstar7 · · Score: 1

      If somebody applied a boot to Glenn's ass they'd probably have to answer to Aldrin's fist. His encounter with a moon landing denialist is an interesting video to see even if Aldrin isn't proud of it.

      Thing is, Aldrin was an active astronaut during Gemini and Apollo. Glenn resigned before Gemini to go into politics. I can overlook a lotta stuff, but becoming a politician?

      --
      Understanding the scope of the problem is the first step on the path to true panic.
  5. In Soviet Russia by Prokur · · Score: 1

    In Soviet Russia old age is killed by you!

  6. Yes, record? How hard can it be? by G3ckoG33k · · Score: 1

    Random luck, if you're already an active astronaut.

  7. Play the Gray for Pay by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Who gives a shit if you can't play "brogrammer" with the $35K code monkeys you used to party with? Why bother if the mullet-and-Mountain Dew set laughs at your graying pate, when you can do your laughing on payday? Set your bar higher.

    20-plus years in IT, engineering, or product development means you've seen a lot, hopefully with a track record of success. There are legacy systems out there screaming to be modernized, reintegrated, and optimized. You know how to do that. The kiddies don't. Cha-ching!

    Guys in my age group in my field (manufacturing automation) never miss a paycheck, have a phone log full of missed recruiter calls, and drive cars the kids only see on dealer's lots and video games.

    It starts with asking yourself the right question: "What jobs will my accumulated skills and experience let me do that few others can?" Not, "Do my skills and experience fit job opening x?"

    Your self-marketing slogan should be, "Yeah, I can do that and more, and it's gonna cost you." It works better than, "I can keep up with little Johnnny." An aura of professional self-assurance, maybe a tad bit conceited if justified, is more effective in the job market than convincing people a cane can keep up with a skate board.

    The typical Pro From Dover isn't 23, makes more than $80K, and doesn't let a little gray cause a mid-life crisis.

  8. Oh, No! I've fallen ... by Katchu · · Score: 1

    Oh, no! I've fallen and I'll never get up!

    --
    Keep Doing Good.
  9. Buzz rules! by G3ckoG33k · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I'm proud that he hit the idiot with the snappiest argument there is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wcrkxOgzhU

    All the Buzz Aldrin there is!

    1. Re:Buzz rules! by quenda · · Score: 2

      Awesome. I usually prefer to settle an argument with superior logic, but with conspiracy nutters that is pointless, so Buzz did the next best thing.

    2. Re:Buzz rules! by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      He didn't settle the argument, there will always be deniers. He simply addressed a personal attack. I am of the opinion that violence is not the answer, but I also believe that words are weapons, so I got gleeful over the event in question myself.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  10. bfd by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Alan Shepard was 47 when he went to the Moon.

    I told the ex that and she says "there's still hope for you!"

    i'm 42

  11. I could have been an astronaut by houbou · · Score: 2

    I got rejected because of my OCD on sleeping with an opened window.