By Tom Kneier
It was a beautiful letdown when I crashed and burned;
when I found myself alone, unknown, unheard.
It was a beautiful letdown the day I knew
That all the riches this world had to offer me would never do.
In a world full of bitter pain, bitter doubts,
I was trying so hard to fit in, fit in,
Until I found out, that I don’t belong here.
from the song, “The Beautiful letdown”, by switchfoot
Endurance
An American astronaut named Scott Kelly currently holds the record for the longest continuous time in space – 340 days. From March 28, 2015 to March 1, 2016, Kelly called the International Space Station his home. In his book, Endurance, Kelly recounts those days in vivid detail. The length of the ship consisted of three American modules and two Russian. The port and starboard were made up of three Russian modules and one each from Europe, Japan, and the United States. It was the combined work of fifteen nations over an eighteen month period.
