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Better be tethered: Mike Gernhardt Back to Astronauts in Hard Hats "Your safety tether is like a reel. It's a wire tether on a spring-loaded spool that tends it, and that is attached to you and the space station at all times, because if you should ever let go of the station, the tether will pull you back in, or you can grab it and pull yourself back in. If you didn't have that tether and you let go, even if you're two inches away from the station, you can't swim over there. There's no water to create forces against. So it's critical from a safety perspective that you be tethered at all times." Blueprint for a Space Station | Astronauts in Hard Hats Inspired by Science Fiction | Free-Falling | Resources Transcript | Site Map | Stationed in the Stars Home Editor's Picks | Previous Sites | Join Us/E-mail | TV/Web Schedule About NOVA | Teachers | Site Map | Shop | Jobs | Search | To print PBS Online | NOVA Online | WGBH © | Updated November 2000 |