International solidarity is a key theme of the book. Many of the funniest moments come from Kelly’s’ Russian cosmonaut colleagues. The humour was welcome relief from the dry-feel (Kelly and his gorilla suit). The book isn’t without tense moments whether it be spacewalks, rogue satellites, launches and re-entries. I also have something in my notes mentioning “community ass brush”, but can’t recall what that’s about (and not sure I want to). They all miss nature while in space (Russian cosmonaut, Misha, even played the sounds of mosquitoes to help him fall asleep). They watched the film Gravity while in space. The sun rises and sets every 90 minutes on the ISS. Space smells “slightly burnt, slightly metallic” Ě space shuttle launch feels like being: “strapped into a freight train gone off the rails and accelerating out of control, shaken violently in every direction.” 8 years is the record for an object reappearing! ğBI style wanted posters adorn walls of the ISS for objects that have floated away on the station and gone missing. Still, I came for space facts, and these were some of the strongest parts of the book: I had no idea how much maintenance and mechanical repairs take up the life of an astronaut.
The space chapters would sometimes descend into a slow DIY project. Trying to land an F-14 on a storm-tossed carrier at sea will always make for gripping reading. Growing up in the 90s, I was obsessed with the likes of Harmon Rabb in JAG and Top Gun, so it was great to read an insider perspective on life as a Tomcat pilot. It was the chapter on flying F-14 Tomcats that drew me back in. When some of this monotonous detail was mixed with animal cruelty, I found my interest waning (a mouse is so distressed in space it chews off its own limbs). “Put the ICL idle, T-handle down clip in place, standby fuel pump on, started on, monitor N1 and ITT for start indications, starter off when ITT peaks or no indication of start.” Want to know what to do if your T-34 loses an engine?
While strong attention to detail is necessary in Kelly’s career and survival, it doesn’t always make for a gripping read. To begin with, I found Endurance a little dry and textbook-like. Some chapters were more interesting than others. Chapters alternate between the year in space and his life and career. This felt like two books rolled into one - part memoir on Scott Kelly’s year in space, and part autobiography about his life and astronaut journey.
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