Anne Collins and John Parsley, your bravery and trust are only matched by your patient relentlessness to get it right.
Finally to each of you, unmentioned, who have shared a piece of this life, those who are long gone, the exquisitely precious friends who have shaped my days and continue to do so, I salute and thank you. It’s been a self-pinching ride to this point. Hugs for everybody.
CHRIS HADFIELD is one of the most seasoned and accomplished astronauts in the world. The top graduate of the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School in 1988 and U.S. Navy test pilot of the year in 1991, Hadfield was selected by the Canadian Space Agency to be an astronaut in 1992. He was CAPCOM for 25 Shuttle launches and served as Director of NASA Operations in Star City, Russia, from 2001–2003, Chief of Robotics at the Johnson Space Center in Houston from 2003–2006, and Chief of International Space Station Operations from 2006–2008. Hadfield most recently served as Commander of the International Space Station where, while conducting a record-setting number of scientific experiments and overseeing an emergency spacewalk, he gained worldwide acclaim for his breathtaking photographs and educational videos about life in space. His music video, a zero-gravity version of David Bowie’s “Space Oddity,” received over 10 million views in its first three days online. Follow him on Twitter at @Cmdr_Hadfield.
An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth Page 27