An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth - Part 1

I just started reading An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth, by Colonel Chris Hadfield. He was the first, and only, Canadian to command the International Space Station back in March of 2013. (He actually flew up in December 2012 on the Soyuz TMA-07M and joined Expedition 34 where he was part of the crew before taking over command in March until his departure in May).

Though I just started reading his book there are two pieces of advice that stand out for me so far.

#1- Sweat the Small Stuff.

Currently you hear most people say, Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff. Colonel Hadfield tells you you should. It actually makes life less stressful rather than more. Because when you’re fully prepared for everything that can go wrong (which, in space, can kill you) you have less to worry about. That makes total sense, doesn’t it?

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Astronauts are taught that the best way to reduce stress is to sweat the small stuff. We’re trained to look on the dark side and to imagine the worst things that could possibly happen. In fact, in simulators, one of the most common questions we learn to ask ourselves is, “Okay, what’s the next thing that will kill me?”…

… The upshot of all this is that we become competent, which is the most important quality to have if you’re an astronaut - or, frankly, anyone, anywhere, who is striving to succeed at anything at all. Competence means keeping your head in a crisis, sticking with a task even when it seems hopeless, and improvising good solutions to tough problems when every second counts. It encompasses ingenuity, determination and being prepared for anything.

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#2 - Enjoy the journey. Because there's a distinct possibility you may never reach your destination.

In 1969, after seeing Neil Armstrong take his first steps on the moon on TV, Chris Hadfield’s childhood dream was to go into space. He wanted to be an astronaut. But, even at that time, he knew there were no Canadian astronauts, only American ones. Did he let that deter him? Of course not.

The next fall, when school started he buckled down and made a concerted effort to overachieve. When he got older he joined the air cadets and learned to fly gliders and eventually fighter planes. He moved to the U.S. with his young family and became a test pilot for the U.S. Navy* and much, much more. All these things in his singular pursuit of becoming an astronaut. But, he knew, that even with all these qualifications there still was a slim chance of him ever leaving this planet.

He says, you have to enjoy what you do - All the training, studying and preparation. If you don’t, all the time and effort spent will seem to drag on and on. As well, your hard work might not even land you a chance to fly into space. So you’d better not bet the farm on it. Instead enjoy your work and if, by chance, you end up going to space, view it as a bonus.

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Getting to space depends on many variables and circumstances that are entirely beyond an individual astronaut’s control, so it always made sense to me to view space flight as a bonus, not an entitlement. And like any bonus, it would be foolhardy to bank on it. Fortunately, there’s plenty to keep astronauts engaged and enthusiastic about the job. I relished the physicality of working in simulators and in the pool, while others thrived on carrying out scientific research and still others liked having input into space policy and helping run the program. Sure, we occasionally grumbled about rules and requirements we didn’t like, but “take this job and shove it” are not words you’re ever going to hear coming out of an astronaut’s mouth. I’ve never met anyone who doesn’t feel like it’s a job full of dreams.

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Milestones -

May 1992 - Along with three others, selected by the Canadian Space Agency to be an astronaut.

November 12th, 1995 - First launch - Space Shuttle Atlantis on STS-74 (Space Transportation System). Main objective: To construct a docking module on the Russian space station, Mir.

April 19th, 2001 - Second mission - Space Shuttle Endeavour on STS-100 to ISS (International Space Station). Main objective: To bring up and install Canadarm2, a huge, external robotic arm for capturing satellites and spaceships, moving supplies and people around and, most important, assembling the rest of the ISS (which was still in the process of being built).

December 19th, 2012 - Third mission - via Russian Soyuz with NASA astronaut Tom Mashburn and Russian Cosmonaut Roman Romanenko to join Expedition 34 (commanded by Kevin Ford) on the International Space Station.

Early March, 2013 - Becomes commander of Expedition 35 on the ISS (the first Canadian to do so) when crew of Expedition 34 returns to earth.

*Though he was a test pilot for the Navy, he went to the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School (TPS) at Edward’s Air Force Base.