Chris Hadfield

CF-18 Hornets
Test pilot
Aircraft
CAPCOM
Mir Space Station
Canadarm + Canadarm2
Spacewalk
Antifog solution

Oversaw
Soyuz
Qualified
Civilian
Launched
Press coverage
Presence
Savvy

Early Life

Chris Hadfield was born on August 29, 1959 in Sarnia, Ontario. When he was a nine-years-old, Hadfield watched the Apollo 11 moon landing on TV. It inspired him to pursue a career as an astronaut. However, it is very difficult to become an astronaut.

Canadian Air Force

Before becoming an astronaut, Hadfield served in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) for 25 years as a fighter pilot. He was the top student in Basic Jet Training. After completing his training, he flew CF-18 Hornets with the 425 Tactical Fighter Squadron. In the late 1980s, Hadfield went to the US Air Test Pilot School and worked as a test pilot from 1989 to 1992. In May, 1992, he graduated with a master’s degree in aviation from the University of Tennessee Space Institute. In his career, he learned to fly many different types of aircraft. In total, he has flown more than 70 different types of aircraft.

Astronaut

In 1992, Hadfield applied to become an astronaut. The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) only hired four astronauts that year out of 5,330 applicants. Hadfield was one of the people chosen. He did many different jobs while working at Kennedy Space Center. He was the chief CAPCOM for 25 space shuttle missions. He went to space for the first time in 1995 delivering food and water to the Mir Space Station. He was the first person to operate the Canadarm. From 1996 to 2000, he was the chief astronaut for the CSA.

In April of 2001, Hadfield served as a mission specialist. He against went to space to install Canadarm2 on the International Space Station (ISS). During the 11 days, he went on two spacewalks. He was the first Canadian to float freely in space. During his first flight, Hadfield was temporarily blinded when the antifog solution got in his eye. In total, he spent 14 hours and 50 minutes on his spacewalk. He traveled around the world 10 times while outside of the spacecraft.

From 2001 to 2003, Hadfield worked at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center. He was the director of operations for NASA there and oversaw all International Space Station (ISS) crew activities in Russia. While working there he also learned how to use the Soyuz TMA spacecraft. Additionally, he became qualified to perform space walks in the Russian Orlan spacesuit.

In 2003, Hadfield retired from the CAF, but continued to work for NASA as a civilian CSA astronaut. From 2003 to 2006, he was the chief of robotics. He was the chief of International Space Stations Operations from 2006 to 2008. In 2008 and 2009, Hadfield trained to be a back up astronaut. In 2010, NASA announced that Hadfield would become the first Canadian commander of the ISS two years later.

On December 19^th, 2012, Hadfield was launched into space. He arrived on board the ISS on December 21^st and remained on the station for five months. There was a lot of press coverage of this mission because Hadfield used a lot of social media. Near the end of the mission, Hadfield sang “Space Oddity” by David Bowie.

Retirement

After the mission, Hadfield retired from the CSA. But he became a celebrity. He continues to have a social media presence with over 2.3 million followers on Twitter. Forbes Magazine called Hadfield, “the most social media savvy astronaut ever to leave Earth.” He continues to educate people about life in space. He has been a part of numerous television programs. He has also written many books. Hadfield was able to accomplish his dream from when he was nine years old.

1. Where was Chris Hadfield born?
2. What inspired him to become an astronaut?
3. How long did he work for the CAF?
4. What kind of aircraft did he fly?
5. How many types of aircraft has he flown?
6. How many astronauts did the CSA hire in 1992?
7. What did he install on the ISS?
8. During his 14 hours and 50 minutes of spacewalking, how many times did he go around the Earth?
9. When did he become the commander of the ISS?
10. What song did he sing while he was in space (https://youtu.be/KaOC9danxNo)?
11. Why do you think Hadfield is so popular?
12. Watch the YouTube video, “What I Learned Going Blind in Space” (https://youtu.be/Zo62S0ulqhA) to hear Hadfield talk about his 2001 spacewalk. Why wasn’t he scared?
13. What are some of the dangers of going to space?