Back From a Space Station Far, Far Away
Daniel Tani is recuperating from an extended stay in space where he became the first astronaut to lose a parent while in orbit.
No disrespect to the U.S. president, firemen or other people with popular occupations, but chances are Daniel Tani's job is cooler than yours.
For one, his business card actually says "astronaut." His company car is worth billions of dollars, and he's been to infinity and beyond.
Now he's back. Back at his earthly NASA office. Back to his family and back to his so-called normal life as one of an elite group of astronauts.
And he has piles and piles of paperwork to show for it.
"When you're gone 4 to 5 months, you come back to 4 to 5 months of bills, e-mails and all the miscellaneous items," said Daniel with a laugh from his NASA office in Houston, where he is wrapping up his stint in astronaut rehab and preparing to go home to Lombard, Illinois.
Last October, the 47-year-old Sansei hitched a ride to the International Space Station for about 120 days where he floated around in zero gravity (Zero G's, for the savvy).
In outer space, he received tons of fan mail from kids and those who are kids at heart.
But Daniel received his favorite fan reception when he returned over a month ago from his daughters, Keiko, three and a half, and Lily, who is almost two.
Lily was only 18 months when he left, so Daniel was a little concerned that she would be scared when he returned even though they kept in touch and blew kisses through weekly video conferences.
But when it came time to greet their father, the kids didn't miss a beat.
"Lily was right on top of me," he said.
The Rocket Man's Rehab
Daniel has hit the Earth running since his Feb. 20 return.
He's been spending most of his time with his daughters and wife Jane Egan. The girls are still too young to show off their astronaut dad to their friends right now, but he does field enthusiastic questions from some of their classmates and parents.
The most popular question is of course: what is it like in space?
The experience is so overwhelming that there's a new answer each time.
It's the exhilaration of being out in the galaxy with nothing separating you except a space suit and a thin wire. It's the serenity of watching the Earth cruise by from your window.
And it's the excitement of floating weightlessly.
And for all intents and purposes, Daniel misses space.
"I miss floating. It's 75 percent great and 25 percent a pain," he said about life in Zero Gs, which does have its drama especially when you're trying to eat. It's an acrobatic challenge of controlling and corralling all your packages of food with just two hands.
"Eating rice in orbit is a pain," he laughs. "You have to make sure every grain gets into your mouth and not in your crew member's face."
He really misses looking out the window at the Earth cruise by.
"You only have to wait 15-20 minutes for something interesting."
He's at the end of six weeks of standard astronaut rehabilitation. Physically, he feels fine aside from the occasional ache and pain associated with coming back into gravity. He was warned about some, but then there were others that he discovered on his own.
"I hadn't thought about it, but you don't sit down when you're in space," he said. "Coming home and sitting down with your entire 170-pound body resting on your rear really hurts!" He was bruised and sore for a couple of days.
His neck and shoulders also rebelled because it had to relearn how to hold up his head.
"It's like a good 20-25 pounds, right? It's like a turkey or bowling ball."
At astronaut rehab, Daniel works out two hours a day, five days a week. It's something he's used to, in space he and his crew had to work out for a same amount of time. He lost almost 10 pounds in space, which is common - but not because of the space cuisine, which he said was quite delectable.
Daniel has a total of six space walks under his belt. He did five of them on this mission.
"It's amazing. You get in your space suit and once it's sealed you're like your own little satellite with your own airflow and communication devices."
Open up the safety hatch and there's a tenth of an inch between you and the vastness of space, but you're usually busy and concentrate on your task, he added.
Looking back, Daniel is most proud of completing his job - which was to install Harmony module, a high-tech hallway to connect the U.S. segment of the station to the European and Japanese modules - ahead of time.
"When I launched, there was a lot of skepticism that we would be able to get it done in time," said Daniel. NASA officials estimated that the crew would need four to five weeks. The job was complete in three weeks.
A Bittersweet Journey
If Daniel didn't become an astronaut, he would've probably gone to business school. Instead of hurling through space, he would've been navigating through a maze of cubicles. But it's funny how life works.
In 1996, the graduate from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) needed a change of pace from working in the aerospace engineering industry, so he submitted an application to become an astronaut.
"There are only two kinds of people in the world - those who want to be astronauts and those who don't."
"It's definitely a cool job, but not everyone would love it," said Steve Tani, Daniel's older brother. "It is one of the very few jobs in the world for which just one word - astronaut - Is all that is needed to describe both employer and position. The only other example I can think of is 'Pope.'"
In 2001, Daniel's first shuttle mission into space only lasted 12-13 days. In NASA's world, a shuttle mission is a sprint, but living in a space station is a marathon.
This most recent mission was bittersweet. Daniel was scheduled to return before the Christmas holiday, but a problem with sensors in the external fuel tank on the shuttle Atlantis delayed the next launch and his flight home. During the delay, Daniel's 90-year-old mother Rose died in a car-train crash shortly before Christmas.
Rose, who was Nisei, grew up close to the Japanese American community and influenced him to develop a kinship too. During World War II, the Tani family was taken to Tanforan and then to Topaz internment camp. His father Henry passed away when Daniel was four, so Rose raised Daniel, her youngest, like a single mother.
"Mom would talk about being in camp and how hard life was there, but never with any bitterness or resentment. It was always about the bad weather or the awful lines," said Daniel.
"She taught me JA values of respect and appreciation of everything the country had to offer. I do feel kinship with the JA community because of her," Daniel added. "My parents were imprisoned and denied basics rights by the government and one generation later the government is entrusting me with billion dollar equipment and missions to space.
"It says a lot about our community and the government to see the right path."
While in orbit, he listened to Rose's memorial service in real time, but he has not watched the video yet.
Daniel is the first astronaut in history to lose a family member while in space. It's hard to say whether he's come to terms with her death yet.
When he first heard the news, he played the "it could've been better or it could've been worse" game. It was hard being away from his family during a difficult time, but it could've been worse.
"She could've just been badly injured in the accident and that would've been harder for me knowing that she wanted me or needed me.
"I'm grieving appropriately," Daniel added.
Even more ironic, Daniel returned from his mission on Feb. 20 - what would have been Rose's 91st birthday.
"It was very meaningful and bittersweet having Dan land on Mom's birthday," said Christine Tani, an Illinois-based lawyer and Daniel's older sister. "We miss mom a great deal, and the fact that she was not at the landing - other than in spirit - was sad.
"But she would have been very happy, excited and relieved to have been there, and to see Dan so soon after his landing. I think she would have told Dan she loved him, and she was so happy for him and for his family that he's back safely," said Christine.
"And she may have asked him, the next time he's in Chicago, to help her fix something in her house - like the doorbell that doesn't work, or a drawer that's stuck. She saved her handyman projects for when he's in town."
Right now, Daniel's working on getting his life back in order. He's working on his golf game by getting his swing back into shape and getting ready to do public appearances.
He also isn't ruling out another future trip out to space.
"Anything is possible," he said.
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