Astronaut Michael J. Massimino peers into Space Shuttle Columbia’s crew cabin during a brief break in work on the Hubble Space Telescope, 2002 (NASA)
A 6-foot-3, blue-collar kid from Long Island with poor eyesight and a fear of heights is not what you'd call a surefire bet for the space program. But Mike Massimino is no ordinary guy. He was an astronaut with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and is the veteran of two NASA space flights: STS-109, aboard space shuttle Columbia in March 2002, and STS-125, aboard space shuttle Atlantis in May 2009. His final mission was to repair the Hubble Space Telescope in 2009.
Massimino talks about preparing for life in space, and some of his interesting moments on this planet and far above it. The nerdy science of TV’s Big Bang Theory (he played himself on several episodes) is worlds away from breathtaking adventures in outer space, where the immensity of the universe alters perceptions of reality. He tells a compelling story about following a dream and what having the “right stuff” really means—at NASA, in space, and in life.
His book Spaceman: An Astronaut’s Unlikely Journey to Unlock the Secrets of the Universe (Crown Archetype) is available for signing after the program.
