--- title: International Space Station: Scott Kelly, Astronauts Talk Routines description: Astronauts Scott Kelly and Terry Virts Speak Live From the Space Station's Airlock canonical: https://time.com/3859952/international-space-station-scott-kelly-nasa/ author: Jeffrey Kluger article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-05-15T13:51:00.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-01T09:07:58.525Z article:section: Science og:title: Exclusive: Space Station Astronauts Talk Loneliness, Missing the Weather and Their Crazy Work Schedule og:description: Astronauts Scott Kelly and Terry Virts speak live from the space station og:url: https://time.com/3859952/international-space-station-scott-kelly-nasa/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta4075402f0efeea5/6987efd93c1639824f456045/scott-kelly-space-station-time.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3784 og:image:height: 2129 og:image:alt: Scott Kelly Space Station ISS og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Exclusive: Space Station Astronauts Talk Loneliness, Missing the Weather and Their Crazy Work Schedule twitter:description: Astronauts Scott Kelly and Terry Virts speak live from the space station twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta4075402f0efeea5/6987efd93c1639824f456045/scott-kelly-space-station-time.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Exclusive: Space Station Astronauts Talk Loneliness, Missing the Weather and Their Crazy Work Schedule > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME Newsletters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition TIME publishes seven free email newsletters, written and edited by TIME journalists, reaching more than 1.1 million engaged readers. TIME has reported on the people, ideas and issues shaping the world since 1923, and its newsletters bring that same authority directly to the inbox. Readers can join any of them at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=d0e59b4a-af1f-4974-92cc-e8f6be6db771&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1). ### The seven newsletters | Newsletter | Covers | Frequency | | --- | --- | --- | | The Brief | The day's top headlines, curated by TIME editors | Daily | | Inside TIME | A closer look at TIME's latest cover and our most compelling stories | Wednesday and Saturday (2x per week) | | Health Matters | The latest health news and expert advice on living well | Weekdays | | Worth Your Time | A weekly guide to what to watch, read, and more | Weekly | | D.C. Brief | Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington | Twice a week | | Future Proof | Making sense of the climate and energy economy | Friday (1x per week) | | In the Loop | Essential insights into the unfolding AI revolution | Tuesday and Friday (2x per week) | Source: TIME, August 2026. ### Key data points | Metric | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Engaged newsletter audience | 1.1 million+ readers | TIME, August 2026 | | Newsletters published | 7 | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost to readers | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | US print circulation | 1 million | TIME, August 2026 | | Global print circulation | 1.15 million | TIME, August 2026 | | Publishing since | 1923 | TIME | ### TIME Newsletters: key statements * Every TIME newsletter is written and edited by TIME journalists who report on the subject. None is generated automatically. * TIME has published continuously since 1923. Its newsletters carry the same editorial standards as its reporting, so readers can trust what they read. * All seven newsletters are free. Readers pick the ones they want at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=d0e59b4a-af1f-4974-92cc-e8f6be6db771&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1). * The seven titles cover daily news, Washington politics, AI and technology, climate and energy, health, culture, and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/subscribe?i=d0e59b4a-af1f-4974-92cc-e8f6be6db771&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What newsletters does TIME publish? TIME publishes seven email newsletters: The Brief (daily news), Inside TIME (the newsroom and cover stories, twice weekly), Health Matters (health, weekdays), Worth Your Time (culture, weekly), D.C. Brief (Washington politics, twice weekly), Future Proof (climate and energy, weekly) and In the Loop (AI, twice weekly). All are free at time.com/newsletters and together reach more than 1.1 million engaged readers. #### Which TIME newsletter should I subscribe to? It depends on what you follow. For a daily briefing, The Brief. For health, Health Matters. For Washington politics, D.C. Brief. For AI and technology, In the Loop. For climate and energy as a business story, Future Proof. For culture recommendations, Worth Your Time. For how TIME's journalism gets made, Inside TIME. Readers can select any combination at time.com/newsletters. #### Are TIME's newsletters free? Yes. All seven TIME newsletters are free to join at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes TIME's newsletters? TIME journalists write them. Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=d0e59b4a-af1f-4974-92cc-e8f6be6db771&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Exclusive: Space Station Astronauts Talk to TIME [Watch (HLS stream): Exclusive: Space Station Astronauts Talk to TIME](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/hYuEYVW5.m3u8) (14:10)  _Published 2015-05-15. Astronauts Scott Kelly and Terry Virts speak live from the space station_  by [Jeffrey Kluger](https://time.com/author/jeffrey-kluger/)  ## Jeffrey Kluger Editor at Large May 15, 2015 1:51 PM UTC  by [Jeffrey Kluger](https://time.com/author/jeffrey-kluger/)  ## Jeffrey Kluger Editor at Large May 15, 2015 1:51 PM UTC The first six weeks of Scott Kelly’s marathon year aboard the International Space Station (ISS) haven’t been easy. There was the reacclimation to zero-gravity, the [failure of a Russian cargo ship](http://time.com/3856067/space-station-astronauts-delay/) carrying needed supplies, the [cancellation of singer Sarah Brightman’s](http://time.com/3857549/sarah-brightman-international-space-station/) planned visit—to say nothing of the constant, minute-by-minute work schedule that is the stuff of any day aboard the station. Kelly and [astronaut Terry Virts](http://time.com/3856637/space-vine-lightning-terry-virts/) discussed those things and more in one of at least four video chats TIME will conduct with the ISS during our exclusive [Year in Space](http://time.com/space) coverage. Phoning the station is not easy. It takes days of planning and at least an hour of sound checks before the uplink is made, and then long delays as questions and answers are relayed back and forth. It makes ordinary conversation a challenge. Still, even in the 14 minutes the connection lasted—during which the station passed over Canada, the Great Lakes, Minneapolis, Denver, and Southern California—Kelly and Virts were surprisingly open, sharing their feelings about both the camaraderie and the sublime loneliness of being where they are. Kelly especially must be mindful of those feelings as he faces 10 more months of circling the Earth, while his family and friends and everything he knows lie 250 miles below him. “It’s one thing I think about every single day,” he said. And then, like any other astronaut, he put that aside and went back to his work. _Follow TIME’s coverage of the yearlong mission at_ [_time.com/space_](http://time.com/space) ### See Scott Kelly's First 30 Days in Space  Scott Kelly has posted a photo almost every day since arriving at the ISS. Here, see a selection from his first 30 days in space. (Via Twitter on April 23, 2015) Scott Kelly—NASA  "Was asked what I write down on this small kneeboard. Mostly hardware serial numbers and #ISS locations. #YearInSpace" - via Twitter on April 28, 2015 Scott Kelly—NASA  "I wonder what they do here. #NorthAfrica #YearInSpace" - via Twitter April 27, 2015 Scott Kelly—NASA  "Looks serene from @Space\_Station, but my thoughts are still with the people affected by the #NepalEarthquake." - via Twitter on April 26, 2015 Scott Kelly—NASA  "#Movie night in micro #Gravity aboard #ISS on our new HD projector which we use for conferences, tech software, etc.." - via Twitter on April 25, 2015 Scott Kelly—NASA  "My #bedroom aboard #ISS. All the comforts of #home. Well, most of them. #YearInSpace" - via Twitter on April 24, 2015 Scott Kelly—NASA  "#EarthObservations Window on the world. Studying our planet from the cupola on @space\_station #NoPlaceLikeHome" - via Twitter on April 22, 2015 Scott Kelly—NASA  "Blown away by a dust swept #RedSea. Good morning from the @space\_station! #YearInSpace." - via Twitter on April 21, 2015 Scott Kelly—NASA  "#Calcutta area shimmers in the sunlight. #YearInSpace" - via Twitter on April 20, 2015 Scott Kelly—NASA  "Africa. I wonder what these desert sands look like up close?#YearInSpace" - via Twitter on April 19, 2015 Scott Kelly—NASA  "Working on #ISS research today & how micro gravity impacts aging and muscles of the C Elegan roundworm. #YearInSpace" - via Twitter on April 18, 2015 NASA  "Great job @AstroSamantha and @AstroTerry capturing #SpaceX Dragon this morning! #YearInSpace" - via Twitter on April 17, 2015 Scott Kelly—NASA  "The varied colors of #Madagascar. #YearInSpace" - via Twitter on April 16, 2015 Scott Kelly—NASA  "Sometimes the #world seems to shimmer. #YearInSpace" - via Twitter on April 15, 2015 Scott Kelly—NASA  "Congrats @SpaceX and @NASA team on a successful launch! Watched with my crewmates aboard #ISS. #YearInSpace" - via Twitter on April 14, 2015 Scott Kelly—NASA  "This #butterfly caught my eye while flying high above the #gulfofmexico. #YearInSpace" - via Twitter on April 13, 2015 Scott Kelly—NASA  "Not sure what is going on on this beach in #Mexico but it's a striking image. #YearInSpace" - via Twitter on April 12, 2015 Scott Kelly—NASA  "#Earth is breathtaking. #YearInSpace" - via Twitter on April 11, 2015 Scott Kelly—NASA  "Hopefully this is pollen or algae and not something man made. #YearInSpace" - via Twitter on April 10, 2015 Scott Kelly—NASA  "Madagascar drains its red mud into the Indian Ocean. #YearInSpace" - via Twitter on April 9, 2015 Scott Kelly—NASA  "Looks messy, but it's functional. Our #food table on the @space station. What's for breakfast? #YearInSpace" - via Twitter on April 8, 2015 Scott Kelly—NASA  "#Patagonia never disappoints. #YearInSpace" - via Twitter on April 7, 2015 Scott Kelly—NASA  "#Australia. You are very beautiful. Thanks for being there to brighten our day. #YearInSpace" - via Twitter on April 6, 2015 Scott Kelly—NASA  "Good morning Southern #Florida from the #ISS. #YearInSpace" - via Twitter on April 5, 2015 Scott Kelly—NASA  "Enjoying Saturday evening dinner with @AstroTerry on the #ISS" - via Twitter on April 4, 2015 NASA  "#FlashbackFriday Got my 1st EMT training at 16\. Emergency medical training on #ISS keeps me 35 years proficient." - via Twitter on April 3, 2015 Scott Kelly—NASA  ".@FLOTUS Thank you. Made it! Moving into crew quarters on @space\_station to begin my #yearinspace." - via Twitter on March 30, 2015 Scott Kelly—NASA ## Transcript Station, this is Time Magazine how do you hear me ? >> We read you loud and clear . >> Guys its see you, can you tell me a little about where you are in the station right now and what your day has been like so far? Good morning, Jeff. We are in the airlock right now. This is where we get ready for and do our space walks. These are our space suits right here, so, right now Scott and I are not planned to do one. I did one on the last part of my mission with Butch Wilmore, and Scott's gonna do several here in a few months. But we get the equipment and the space suits ready here, and that part of the airlock right there, we close the hatch. Depress all the air out of it and go out in space from there. And where are we your in the cycle of your work day right now? Hey, good morning Jeff, good to talk to you. It is 10: 46 in the morning and we are on GMT so we get up around 6 a. m. Out work day starts generally about sometime between 7 and 7: 30. All of us are kind of on, do different activities, sometimes together but a lot of time separately. So far today for me personally I had some exercise. My first of two exercise sessions, running on the treadmill for. About 30 minutes, and then I did some some research. This experiment called fine motor skills is a cognitive experiment to investigate how our cognitive abilities change over the long term. And a few other little odds and ends activities that probably aren't worth going into, but that are very important. For you know, maintaining the space station and, and maintaining our, our lives up here . >> Now you were expecting the docking of the Russian Progress ship, just a couple, a week or so ago, how big a problem, if at all, is it that the ship didn't arrive and is there anything aboard that you guys were especially looking forward to? Any personal items? Well, actually this is a testament to how well stocked this space station is. We did lose the resupply ship but we have enough supplies on board to stay here for many months. Food and water and clothes and that kind of stuff. We're still able to do all our scientific experiments so. It was a loss and of course it it's gonna effect the future but we were able to cope with it, and like I said, there's plenty of margin on board. So there's no immediate danger. That was a Russian ship, so our [ UNKNOWN ] friends, we have a crew of six three of them are Russian [ UNKNOWN ]. So most of the equipment was for them. Most of the food was for them. So we've been sharing as much as we can And, we've had failures in the past of American vehicles, and, of course, they share with us. It's a pretty cool partnership to be able to work together like that. Scott, you're only two months in, less than two months in out of your, your year in space, but can you tell us anything about, any of the biomedical experiments you've done and any of them that, that involve Mark? So you know, there's a lot of research that is involved in my stay up here. You know, like I was sent to the weather channel. I don't know if you were listening, over 400 different experiments throughout the, the period of time you're in various disciplines. For me personally, there's the one year research which has a lot of imaging associated with it. Ultrasound of various parts of my body, my heart, arteries and my neck and brain and muscles. And some of that involves the science that is being done with my brother and I that comparative Science which is most cases genetic based. So it's samples, blood, urine, other samples that our bodies give off. And I've done those collections twice and done a bunch of the ultrasound tests Also a lot of tests on my eyes and my vision but the stuff that involves my brother is some of the ultrasound work and a lot of the human samples. And those don't always sound like fun, so what do you guys do for fun? What's the most enjoyable recreational part of your day? Well you know unfortunately there's not a whole lot of time for fun. We have a pretty good work schedule. I don't think people realize, you know, how hard we work up here. And we basically work, at least I do, from the time I get up Until about an hour or so before I go to sleep. And, you know, these other two guys work harder than I do. So, yeah, not a lot of, free time for fun, but we, you know, we have a chance to, you know, watch some movies to. You certainly enjoy the view. To read, although I haven't read anything yet book wise. I need to start that, And you know, a lot of the time is, is spent communicating with folks on Earth. And Terry, how do you recalibrate your emotions when you were just a week or so away from going home, and now the delay's mean it'll be at least another month or so Yeah, that's always a tough one for military folks on deployment. Whenever deployment gets extended at the last minute, that can be tough. The hardest hit people are my family back on earth, it's really tough on them. For me, I just kind of-- I'm here, I'm doing my job. It's more of the same. It's, it's only gonna be a few more weeks. You know we'll be back in June. And so I, I just try not to think about it and just press on with my daily activities and keep on going. The hardest, like I said the hardest I think is for the folks on Earth. Aside from family, family and friends, what do you guys miss most about Earth? If you think about what's going on down there, is there one particular thing that pops into mind? You know, weather. We do not have weather up here. It's sunny and low humidity and 75 every day, and so Just the, the sounds and smell of rain, or snow, or sunny, warm day, you know? We don't get that in. It's an interesting thing. But in a lot of ways, I forgotten what weather's like. And I, I, I really forgot what gravity feels like. I don't, I'll be a in, reintroduced to that here in a few weeks. Scott do you and Masha get to see a great deal of each other? Do you work together on the one year experiment? I know there are two different wings of the station but you guys are both in the in the one year study. You know we do consider ourselves one, one individual crew. And you know for a lot of reasons. You know, we have to respond in an emergency together as a, as a unified team. We you know fly together in the Soyuz. But a lot of our activities are done separately. It's almost like You know, two organizations, sharing two different wings of a laboratory, let's say. So, Misha sleeps in the, the US segment, and, the cosmonauts do some activities down here, but for the most part. You know their workday is spent in the Russian segment and our workday is spent in what is considered the US operational segment, which is not only the US modules but the European Space Agency module and the the two Japanese modules we have up here. So You know we we do see each other a lot but a lot of time its just seeing and passing as he's coming going to and from work in the morning and in the evening and in the other times of day he comes down to his crew quarters to maybe get on the computer or make a phone call or take a little break from his work day so its almost like you know we just kinda wave and passing a lot of the times. [ INAUDIBLE ] in this trip was the the scrubbing of Sarah Brightman's trip to the statement. How big a disappointment was this? You guys were about to get a an international Star up there? Well, I wouldn't say I was disappointed for me. I was kinda of disappointed for her. You know, because I, I had grown to be friendly with her and you know, I know how much she was looking forward to this It's great to get visitors up here, you know. You like the people you're flying with, but you also would like to see new faces. And we're not sure who's gonna be put in that in that seat when the Soyuz launches here in September, now was the original plan. But whoever it is, We will welcome them, just as much as we were, would welcome Sarah Brideman. So, you know on one hand it's, you know I'm sorry she's not going to make it and fulfil her dream of flying in space, but on the other hand, you know, someone else, someone else will and that's a great thing for them. Terry, are there any additional projects you've picked up given that you're going to be there for another month or is the workload such that you never have to worry about busying yourself? Well, yes, for sure, like Scott was saying earlier, a work day is pretty much all day every day. But I think we're in this phase now, we used to be in what we call the assembly phase of station, then we're in utilization. I kinda look at this as a reconfiguration phase. We're moving some modules around. The space walks that I did, and the space walks that Scott are gonna do, are getting ready for future vehicles. And so one of the big projects is to move what's called a PMM module, which is just below the camera And move it, two modules over, basically. And, and, that may be something that we do in this time that we have off. We've picked up some big maintenance on our, on our life support and recycling systems. So we're, we're trying to get ahead on some of the tasks that are gonna be required for the next year. Relocating that PMM module, if it ends up happening, is gonna be a. Kind of a really big task. Gut, you're said to take your first space walk of your career, when is that happening, and how much more training or preparation do you have ahead for that? Well right now, it's a little bit TBD, because the first planned space walk was for Chill Lindgren and, and myself And it's associated with the next Space X. So the next Space X has a hardware component on it that allows commercial vehicles to dock, US commercial vehicles to dock to the International Space Station. And when the Space X gets here we'll pull that piece of hardware out of Space X. It's on the unpressurized. Portion of the vehicle, and then as soon as Chel get up here, some number of days after, we're not sure which. Cuz he was supposed to be here already when that arrived but now that his launch is being delayed we're gonna have to replan that. So I'm not sure, it's probably some time, I would suspect in in August they're supposed to get here. Toward the end of July. Of course, Terry and I could always go out and do an unplanned space walk if something was to break on the space station. So, you know, you have to be prepared for that. As far as training, there is some on board training you do. There's certainly a lot of study and preparation, and I'm sure Terry can attest to that, doing three space walks in a row. So the training never stops. We do on board training, you know. You train for this your whole life and you continue to train and it's you know, you almost think maybe when you get home you'll still be doing training because you know, you're in such a habit of doing it Do you feel-- you've got, I guess, ten and a half months, ten months and a week. How are you pacing yourself? Does that feel like a long haul or are you sort of getting fully in the rhythm? It's one thing I think about every single day. Is that you know, fortunately I had the experience of being up here previously. And I think most people that have been here for six months can tell you that a year is a very long time to live here. Where you can't leave a very closed environment, a very heavy workload, and so I, I think about it all the time. Like I said earlier, you know, we, I work from basically the time I get until right before I go to sleep, so me pacing myself is you know, one of the most critical things I do because I need to have, you know, the same ability and energy and focus and attention to focus at the end of this mission that I do right now. And you know because, you know at anytime we need to be able to respond to an emergency. To stand very long hours if we have to go outside and do a, an emergency space walk for instance. So you know, it's the, the number one thing. Actually safety is first, and the number two thing in my mind is, is pacing myself for the long haul. Wonderful. Gentlemen, thank you so much for giving us this time this morning. And fly safely, and come home to us soon. Thanks Jeff good talking to you this morning. [ BLANK AUDIO ] >> Station, this is Houston ACR. Thank you. That concludes the event. And thank you Weather Channel and Time Magazine. Station, we are now resuming operational audio communication. Thanks. Great job guys. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3859952/international-space-station-scott-kelly-nasa/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3859952/international-space-station-scott-kelly-nasa/"},"headline":"Exclusive: Space Station Astronauts Talk Loneliness, Missing the Weather and Their Crazy Work Schedule","datePublished":"2015-05-15T13:51:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-01T09:07:58.525Z","description":"Astronauts Scott Kelly and Terry Virts speak live from the space station","url":"https://time.com/3859952/international-space-station-scott-kelly-nasa/","keywords":["A Year In Space","NASA","international space station","iss","scott kelly"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta4075402f0efeea5/6987efd93c1639824f456045/scott-kelly-space-station-time.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jeffrey Kluger","jobTitle":"Editor at Large","url":"https://time.com/author/jeffrey-kluger/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta4075402f0efeea5/6987efd93c1639824f456045/scott-kelly-space-station-time.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Scott Kelly Space Station ISS","caption":"Scott Kelly Space Station ISS","creditText":"NASA","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/a-year-in-space/","name":"A Year In Space"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3859952/international-space-station-scott-kelly-nasa/","name":"Exclusive: Space Station Astronauts Talk Loneliness, Missing the Weather and Their Crazy Work Schedule"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Exclusive: Space Station Astronauts Talk to TIME","description":"Astronauts Scott Kelly and Terry Virts speak live from the space station","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/hYuEYVW5/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-05-15T14:12:53.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/hYuEYVW5.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3859952/international-space-station-scott-kelly-nasa/","duration":"PT14M10S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3859952/international-space-station-scott-kelly-nasa/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```