I’m Raphaël, an ESA astronaut candidate currently training in Houston. I recently completed my first EVA suit dive at NASA’s Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL), and I wanted to share the experience with you!
I was selected by ESA in November 2022 and have been training at the Johnson Space Center since April 2023, preparing for my first mission to the ISS in 2026. Originally from Belgium, I have a background in biomedical engineering and neuroscience.
The NBL is a massive underwater facility where we simulate the weightlessness of space to practice spacewalks. During this first dive, I got hands-on with the EVA suit and the various tools we use for extra-vehicular activities, such as tethers, foot restraints and screwdrivers.
What surprised me was the physical intensity required for even simple tasks during the dive, like moving along the modules. I’ll definitely need more gym time to handle the upcoming dives, which will last up to seven hours.
I’ve attached some pictures from the dive. Feel free to ask any questions about the training, the technology we use, or the path to becoming an astronaut — I’m happy to share what I’ve learned and give you a glimpse into the final stages of astronaut training before liftoff.
Looking forward to the conversation!
Raphaël Liégeois
TheBraindonkey on
Awesome and good luck!
I did space camp, so I’m kind of an astronaut myself. 😉
CHEEZE_BAGS on
Nice, that’s pretty cool. What was the most surprising part of it? Also what was the coolest part of it?
Mrbrightside752 on
Do you do any training for if you were to let go/become disconnected? Or is the training basically “Don’t let go” and “Here is a backup tether, good luck.”
4 Comments
Hello r/space!
I’m Raphaël, an ESA astronaut candidate currently training in Houston. I recently completed my first EVA suit dive at NASA’s Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL), and I wanted to share the experience with you!
I was selected by ESA in November 2022 and have been training at the Johnson Space Center since April 2023, preparing for my first mission to the ISS in 2026. Originally from Belgium, I have a background in biomedical engineering and neuroscience.
The NBL is a massive underwater facility where we simulate the weightlessness of space to practice spacewalks. During this first dive, I got hands-on with the EVA suit and the various tools we use for extra-vehicular activities, such as tethers, foot restraints and screwdrivers.
What surprised me was the physical intensity required for even simple tasks during the dive, like moving along the modules. I’ll definitely need more gym time to handle the upcoming dives, which will last up to seven hours.
I’ve attached some pictures from the dive. Feel free to ask any questions about the training, the technology we use, or the path to becoming an astronaut — I’m happy to share what I’ve learned and give you a glimpse into the final stages of astronaut training before liftoff.
Looking forward to the conversation!
Raphaël Liégeois
Awesome and good luck!
I did space camp, so I’m kind of an astronaut myself. 😉
Nice, that’s pretty cool. What was the most surprising part of it? Also what was the coolest part of it?
Do you do any training for if you were to let go/become disconnected? Or is the training basically “Don’t let go” and “Here is a backup tether, good luck.”