An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth: What Going to Space Taught Me about Ingenuity, Determination, and Being Prepared for Anything

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Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page. The book was saved from utter repellency as I found interest in the insights within NASA and Roscosmos. There’s a critical moment during the burn when there’s no turning back; they’ve decelerated so much that they’re committed to falling into the atmosphere. Being an astronaut is not mainly about going into space; it is about the process of training, learning, practicing, undergoing grueling difficulties, and helping others. I alternated between reading the book, and listening to the audiobook which was self-narrated by Hadfield himself.

Decide in your heart of hearts what really excites and challenges you, and start moving your life in that direction. During this time he has broken into a Space Station with a Swiss army knife, disposed of a live snake while piloting a plane, been temporarily blinded while clinging to the exterior of an orbiting spacecraft, and become a YouTube sensation with his performance of David Bowie's 'Space Oddity' in space.

Very quickly, though, the warmth of unity morphs to the sourness of resentment which makes hardships seem even more intolerable and doesn’t help get the job done. During this time he has broken into a Space Station with a Swiss army knife, disposed of a live snake while piloting a plane, and been temporarily blinded while clinging to the exterior of an orbiting spacecraft. When astronauts are killed on the job, the reason is almost always an overlooked detail that seemed unimportant at the time. He helped create and host the National Geographic miniseries One Strange Rock, with Will Smith, and has a MasterClass on exploration.

I picked this book up because of plans to create a triptych of imagery from underwater, up in the air and then out into space (with the unique ‘vehicle’ that I work with) so had developed an interest in all things space related; especially after having the privilege of meeting the team at Houston, standing looking down at a live mission control and visiting the Neutral Buoyancy Lab there. We know most of us will work on Earth and never make it to the ISS, but being an astronaut is a team effort and we are major players in that team. Garbage disposal is by sending everything back in the small supply rockets that are sent up to them. It’s so big, with so many discrete modules, that it’s possible to go nearly a full day without seeing another crewmate.

This is a completely fascinating life story told in such an engaging way that it becomes a gift for one’s own life! The anecdotes were laid out in a dizzying manner (perhaps reminiscent of the De-orbit in the Soyuz capsule? This would have done his story far more justice, rather than deliver what feels like a rush job to simply capitalize on his Rock Star status. The environment is also highly competitive, without the competition ever being explicitly acknowledged.

In 2013, he served as Commander of the International Space Station orbiting the Earth during a five-month mission. And you can choose to appreciate the smallest scraps of experience, the everyday moments, or to value only the grandest, most stirring ones. Chris does a great job of painting a picture of what it is like on a day in the life of the International Space Station.

Fulfilling this lifelong dream required intense focus, natural ability and a singular commitment to “thinking like an astronaut. In his book An Astronaut ’ s Guide to Life on Earth , Chris Hadfield takes readers deep into his years of training and space exploration to show how to make the impossible possible. You practice tricky, repetitive tasks as well as highly challenging ones to the point of exhaustion, and you’re away from home more than half the time. By using the Web site, you confirm that you have read, understood, and agreed to be bound by the Terms and Conditions. Bullying, bickering and competing for dominance are, even in a low-risk situation, excellent ways to destroy morale and diminish productivity.