Cadets Chat With International Space Station Commander [VIDEO]

To the cheers of an auditorium of cadets at the  on Tuesday, academy graduate and former professor Daniel C. Burbank made an appearance from the International Space Station.

Burbank, the commander of Expedition 30 of the ISS, spoke to former students, members of the academy’s Aviation Club, and others for about half an hour. He said he is often reminded of his Coast Guard service by the places the station passes over, and that it is a consistently amazing sight to see the world from 240 miles up.

“The time that we’ve had up here is incredibly busy,” said Burbank. “You have to be a jack-of-all-trades.”

When answering questions, Burbank said the retirement of the space shuttle was a bittersweet moment for the space program, but that he sees a bright future for spaceflight. He made frequent references to a possible manned mission to Mars and said much of the research currently being done on the ISS is on how to keep humans alive and healthy for prolonged missions.

“I think that is humanity’s destiny. We’re going to do those things,” said Burbank.

Burbank said the ISS is also working to become more self-sustaining in order to reduce the number of cargo resupply trips to the station. He said another study is looking at the effect of prolonged space travel on cardiovascular activity, while exercise machines now allow astronauts to leverage up to 600 pounds. Burbank said such activity is essential due to mitigate bone loss that occurs in zero gravity.

“We have to exercise about two and a half hours a day,” he said.

There are some aspects of space life that take some getting used to, Burbank said. The ISS crew experiences multiple sunrises and sunsets while in orbit, so light is artificially regulated to allow sleep patterns to continue. Astronauts must also be cautious that tools and other materials don’t float away and damage sensitive equipment.

“It’s something we don’t necessarily deal with on a regular basis, but it’s one of the survival skills you have working on a space station,” he said.

Burbank was born in Manchester and currently lives in Yarmouthport, Mass., according to his National Aeronautics and Space Administration profile. He graduated from Tolland High School in 1979, received a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering from the Coast Guard Academy in 1985, and received a master of science degree in aeronautical science from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University in 1990.

A retired Coast Guard captain, Burbank was an aviation officer and instructor in North Carolina, Massachusetts, and Alaska. He also worked on technical issues for the Astronaut Office Operations Planning Branch and the International Space Station Branch of NASA and flew as a mission specialist on space shuttle missions in 2000 and 2006.

Between 2007 and 2009, Burbank was a professor of engineering at the Coast Guard Academy and taught astronomy, aerodynamics, and statistics and engineering design. He arrived at the ISS on Nov. 16 and is one of six crew members—three from Russia, two from the United States, and one from the Netherlands—who will be on board the station until returning in March.

Wryan Webb, a senior, and Rachel Cuthrell, a junior, were members of the Aviation Club who attended the conversation. Both hope to attend flight training to become helicopter pilots for the Coast Guard, and Webb is considering whether to pursue work with NASA as well.

“I thought it was a phenomenal opportunity, not only to speak to an astronaut currently in space but with a former teacher,” said Webb.

Cuthrell said she met Burbank in her junior year of high school and was also grateful for the opportunity to speak to him again.

“He’s been one of my idols, my heroes, and it was great to talk with him,” she said.

“It was really awesome,” said Joe Dilier, a senior. “I had him as a teacher my freshman year, and it’s just really cool to talk to someone in space.”