Michael S. Hopkins, the U. of I. aerospace engineering alumnus who recently spent 166 days orbiting Earth on the International Space Station, wasn’t just along for the ride.
Hopkins, who will give the U. of I. Commencement address May 17, was both the researcher and the subject of the research.
Heavy hitter
Astronaut and U. of I. alumnus Michael S. Hopkins made the grade in the classroom during his time on the U. of I. campus, but also was a hit at Memorial Stadium as a starting safety for the Illinois football team. He joined the football team as a freshman walk-on player and finished his career as a team captain in the 1991 John Hancock Bowl.
“We’re really guinea pigs when we’re up there,” he said, noting the raft of health-related tests that NASA astronauts must undergo during a mission.
Scientists continue to use astronauts for testing the affects of space on the human body – effects Hopkins can personally attest to.
“When I first got up there everything was moving in strange ways,” he said. “I was a little disoriented and I felt like I was falling.”
Michael S. Hopkins in a recent NASA portrait.
He said for the first 24 hours or so it felt like the space station was flying on its left side even though it was in its normal orientation.
And when he returned, the differences were just as stark. For example, immediately after landing in the descent capsule, he had to hand the flight procedures book to search and rescue personnel because it felt unnaturally heavy.
Astronauts are given comparative spinal ultrasounds and other tests before and after their flight and are monitored during daily two-hour exercise sessions, meant to maintain muscle function in the near-zero gravity of low Earth orbit.
Hopkins carried out a long list of experiments, including one that focused on how capillary flow forces work in space. This experiment used differently shaped containers to test changes in the wicking behavior of a wetting fluid, and how that information can be used to passively separate liquids and gases.
The results of the capillary flow experiment could lead to improved water purification, fuel storage and supply, and general liquid transport aboard spacecraft. Its Earth-bound applications include improving the ability of miniature medical devices’ to draw human fluids for testing.
“(The experiments) improve our understanding of how capillary forces work in a variety of system geometries, including the open spaces within porous materials such as sand and soil, wicks and sponges,” according to a description on the NASA website.
Hopkins’ photo from the football program during his time on the Illinois football team.
While in orbit, Hopkins worked closely and communicated directly with the experiment’s principal investigator on the ground.
He said astronauts are asked to monitor a variety of general research projects and must be prepared to fix anything that breaks – inside or outside the spacecraft.
Hopkins participated in two space walks, the first to repair a pump module.
“I don’t really have the right words to describe what that was like except ‘incredible,’ ” he said. “There’s nothing obstructing the view of Earth and it’s all right there and you’re just hanging out. I was a ball of emotions.”
Being an astronaut has been the perfect career for Hopkins, giving him the opportunity to pair his love of physical activity with technology.
He was raised as an outdoorsman in the Missouri Ozarks, but his family had an aircraft-flying background he could not ignore. His father and uncle both flew military aircraft; his grandfather was an early airplane mechanic and wing-walker – a daredevil who, during the early part of the 20th century would stand atop a flying airplane.
“There was never any pressure to go down this path,” he said. “These were just the things that seemed natural to me. Being an astronaut was always something out there that I wanted to do, but I’ve enjoyed all of the things I’ve done along the way to get here.”
He said his biggest influence in becoming an astronaut was watching space shuttle missions when he was in high school.
In 1996 Hopkins attended the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School, and upon completion he was named a Distinguished Graduate and top flight test engineer. He then went on to test a wide vareity of aircraft, including the C-17 and C-130 transport aircraft. In 2002 he was named an Olmsted Scholar, which led to an assignment in Italy in 2003.
Hopkins’ first Pentagon assignment came in 2005, where he served as a project engineer and program manager for the U.S. Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office. He was selected as a special assistant to the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff before the call from NASA came inviting him to become an astronaut – the result of four applications spanning 12 years.
Hopkins, an Air Force colonel, credits the U. of I. for solidifying the academic foundation that led to his professional success. But he said he’s not sure if he even would be accepted in the engineering program today, considering its national rank and the high level of competition among students hoping to be accepted.
“The student body these days is incredibly impressive,” he said.
Hopkins said he is looking forward to returning to campus and will be showing the campus to his sons, 15 and 12. Chances are very good they’ll be visiting the College of Engineering.
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