Operating in orbit
As an orthopedic oncologist who studies bone that has been damaged by cancer, Robert “Bobby” Satcher ’86, PhD ’93, HST MD ’94 is also interested in the effects of microgravity on the human body. He got the chance to experience those effects firsthand when he became the first orthopedic surgeon to venture into space in November 2009.Satcher was one of six astronauts who spent 11 days aboard the recently retired shuttle Atlantis as part of NASA’s STS-129 Space Shuttle mission to deliver 14 tons of spare parts to the International Space Station (ISS). During the mission, he completed two spacewalks to attach hardware to the exterior of the ISS that will help keep the research facility running until 2015. “It’s definitely the most physically demanding thing we do as astronauts,” Satcher, speaking at a talk at MIT on Tuesday hosted by the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology (HST),...