Celebrity Interview – Chris Hadfield
On Earth And Space – Chris Hadfield’s Guide To The Cosmos will feature the Canadian astronaut and former commander of the International Space Station sharing his thoughts on the new age of space travel and what it will mean for life on earth.
Moustachioed Chris was the first Canadian to walk in space. Not only that, he’s in the extraordinarily rare position of having spent 15 hours in space – not in a rocket or on board a space station but on space walks during his 21-year career as an astronaut for NASA and the Canadian Space Agency.
He says he’s looking forward to his new show which he’ll deliver 11 times in nine different cities.
“I’ve previously toured across the UK, Australia, Germany, the US and Canada and sold out wherever we’ve gone. It’s such a joy to connect and share ideas with so many people.
“It’ll be an evening of discovery and digging into many ideas about space, of where we’ve come from, where we are and where it’s leading to, helping us to understand more about where space exploration is heading with the technological advancements like today’s rockets and the James Webb telescope.”
The James Webb Space Telescope is conducting infrared astronomy. As the largest optical telescope in space, it’s equipped with high-sensitivity instruments, allowing it to view objects that are too old, distant or faint for the Hubble Space Telescope which was launched more than 30 years ago.
Chris Austin Hadfield was born on 29 August 1959 in Sarnia, Ontario. His journey to space began when he was nine: he recalls watching Armstrong and Aldrin take part in the first lunar landing and moon walk.
He set his heart on following in their footsteps and made it his own mission to succeed.
“What I saw was the most exciting thing human beings had ever done and I wanted to be part of that.”
When he was 15 Chris learned to fly and enlisted with the Canadian Armed Forces where he eventually became a combat fighter pilot and test pilot.
He spent time with both the US Navy and US Air Force, being recognised as their top test pilot, before he was accepted into the Canadian Space Agency’s astronaut programme when he was 33.
He calls that an “amazing” moment: “To put it in context, a recent intake to NASA saw 18,300 applications for 11 places. When I applied to the Canadian Space Agency in 1992, there were 5,300 applicants for four places.
“Gaining the qualifications to be selected is extremely difficult, but then it has to be combined with luck, hard work and being there at the right time.
“To get that phone call to say Canada would like you to be an astronaut is incredible.”
It took him four years to prepare for his first step into space which is “literally and figuratively an other-wordly experience”.
He explains the gravity of it: “It’s very dangerous. There’s a huge number of things to squeeze in in a wildly different environment, at very high stakes.
“The vast majority of what you’re thinking about is the life and death enormity of performing each step and paying attention to each minor detail as well as dealing with the things that can and do go wrong.
“It’s also immensely exciting and the absolute personification of what I dreamed about as a nine-year-old boy. The physical experience of pulling yourself out of a small airlock on the International Space Station is so exhilarating. You’re no longer an earthling in that moment and it really strikes home.
“It’s overwhelming. It gobsmacks you and stops thought. It’s an amazing time and place to be in your life.”
Chris has orbited the earth 2,650 times and he says the last was even more enlightening and enriching than the first.
“The earth is flashing by at 8km per second (almost 18,000mph) – you cross the UK in a matter of seconds.
“You find yourself looking for things you know, for touchstones of familiarity, and you get better at looking.
“Viewing earth from space is like watching the planet take a breath. You see winter and summer swap between the northern and southern hemispheres. Because the planet is on a tilt, and not all planets have that, we have our distinctive seasons. Seeing that unfold above you is extremely provocative.”
Chris’s feat of being the first Canadian to spacewalk is commemorated on the Canadian five-dollar bill. But that isn’t his only claim to fame: when he was commander of the International Space Station he sang and played guitar on a version of David Bowie’s hit Space Oddity. It’s been viewed on YouTube no fewer than 52 million times.
Entrepreneurs including Richard Branson and Elon Musk are gravitating towards conquering space and their plans have rocketed in the past few years. Chris believes the sky isn’t the limit.
“When I was born, no one had flown in space. We reached space 62 years ago as part of that natural urge to explore which was previously limited by technology. Now we’re at a place where the technology is rapidly improving and opening many, many opportunities.
“As humans, we’re explorers by nature. We’re looking imminently at a settlement on the moon, initially robotic, but then human settlement. The reality of getting people there is increasing.
tChris has had many astronomical achievements in his career but he’s remarkably grounded about what he regards as his greatest moment in life.
“Condensing 63 years of life into a few publicly shining moments, you trivialise it and miss so much of what is important to me.
“I met my wife Helene in a high school play. She was turning 15, I was 16, and that’s probably the most significant moment in my life as we’ve been together ever since. That relationship has hugely influenced the life we’ve had together and all that we’ve accomplished.”
Since retiring in 2013 Chris has written four best-selling books including his autobiography and a thriller set in space, The Apollo Murders. His next work of fiction, The Defector, which draws on his time as a fighter pilot, will be published in the autumn.
Before then Chris will be on stage in Nottingham presenting a “mind-expanding evening of exploration, imagery, stories and music”. It promises to be an out-of-this-world experience.
On Earth And Space – Chris Hadfield’s Guide To The Cosmos will be at the Royal Concert Hall, Nottingham on Wednesday 21 June
