The Ordinary Spaceman
eBook - ePub

The Ordinary Spaceman

From Boyhood Dreams to Astronaut

  1. 376 pages
  2. English
  3. ePUB (mobile friendly)
  4. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub

The Ordinary Spaceman

From Boyhood Dreams to Astronaut

About this book

What’s it like to travel at more than 850 MPH, riding in a supersonic T-38 twin turbojet engine airplane? What happens when the space station toilet breaks? How do astronauts “take out the trash” on a spacewalk, tightly encapsulated in a space suit with just a few layers of fabric and Kevlar between them and the unforgiving vacuum of outer space?

The Ordinary Spaceman puts you in the flight suit of U.S. astronaut Clayton C. Anderson and takes you on the journey of this small-town boy from Nebraska who spent 167 days living and working on the International Space Station, including nearly forty hours of space walks. Having applied to NASA fifteen times over fifteen years to become an astronaut before his ultimate selection, Anderson offers a unique perspective on his life as a veteran space flier, one characterized by humility and perseverance. 
From the application process to launch aboard the space shuttle Atlantis, from serving as a family escort for the ill-fated Columbia crew in 2003 to his own daily struggles—family separation, competitive battles to win coveted flight assignments, the stress of a highly visible job, and the ever-present risk of having to make the ultimate sacrifice—Anderson shares the full range of his experiences. With a mix of levity and gravitas, Anderson gives an authentic view of the highs and the lows, the triumphs and the tragedies of life as a NASA astronaut.

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Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright Page
  4. Dedication
  5. Contents
  6. List of Illustrations
  7. Foreword
  8. Acknowledgments
  9. Introduction
  10. 1. First Flight
  11. 2. Beginnings
  12. 3. Freshman Fifteen
  13. 4. Hey, There’s an App for That!
  14. 5. Answer the Phone, Will Ya?
  15. 6. Baby Astronauts
  16. 7. Hail Columbia!
  17. 8. Age of Aquarius
  18. 9. From Russia with Love
  19. 10. Survival of the Fittest
  20. 11. Sign of the Times
  21. 12. Sixty-Two and Counting
  22. 13. Dark Days of Summer
  23. 14. Crime and Punishment
  24. 15. The “Void” of Outer Space
  25. 16. The Doctor Is In
  26. 17. The Hard Thump of Reality
  27. 18. The Serendipity of Chance
  28. 19. Walking Tall
  29. 20. Fame and Fortune
  30. 21. Find Us Faithful
  31. 22. Impacts
  32. 23. The End Becomes the Beginning
  33. About Clayton C. Anderson
  34. About Nevada Barr
  35. Illustrations