An autobiography of a Space Traveller
Twitter is the last place that would inspire me to pick up a book. And I generally don’t read biographies as much as I would like to. But these two seemingly obvious realities converged to prove a point when I picked up “An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth” (AAGTLOE) by Commander Chris Hadfield.
Commander Hadfield or his more popular Twitter handle which was the root of my purchase decision - @cmdr_hadfield - is a social media star, after his photographs of earth from the International Space Station went viral. To find photographs of the Earth as seen from the ISS, amidst the inanities I was witnessing on Twitter at the time, was a breath of fresh air. Naturally, I was hooked. Sure NASA releases far more detailed images every now and then, but somehow I found that a tad bit academic. @cmdr_hadfield had somehow cracked the aspect of making the inner workings of the ISS, social media gold by giving a visual diary of The Earth from the ISS. Along with his personal take on the photographs, Hadfield also added a human touch to the proceedings. Apart from pictures of the planet, Hadfield was also the person behind a lot of instructional videos from space. In fact, his videos were a major research point for an article I had written for my former magazine, Digit - A day in the life of an astronaut. I was eagerly following his as well as Expedition 34/35’s YouTube channel.
It was a no-brainer then, that I had to buy his book - An Astronaut’s Guide To Life On Earth.
Having seen his instructional videos from the ISS, I knew that despite this being an autobiography of an astronaut, it would be an easy-to-read book. Sure, the book has the technicalities explained in detail. Thanks to my engineering background, and my limited knowledge of space missions, I could follow most of the processes explained in the book when it came to going on a space walk, technical testing procedures an astronaut undergoes, the take off and landing checklists and so on. Hadfield has maintained a good balance between technical and non-technical aspects of an astronaut’s life.
The book shines best, when Hadfield talks about the preparatory phases, before actually being able to fly in space. We all are aware of the rockstar-like status that Astronauts command when they land back on earth, but few are aware of the countless hours spent behind achieving that very goal. The dogged perseverance required to make it inside a spacecraft in space, is not as glamourous. That forms the crux of the book. And also makes those outside the hallowed halls of NASA, CSA, Roscosmos, ISRO and other space agencies wonder, would any of us survive that much preparation and training sessions while keeping a full-time job?
The titling of the chapters is superb. ‘The Trip Takes a Lifetime’, ‘Sweat The Small Stuff’, ‘What’s the Next Thing That Could Kill You’, ‘Aim to be a Zero’, ‘Climbing Down the Ladder’ and so on. These headlines act as great pointers of things you have learned from the book long after you are done reading it. Sweating the small stuff for instance talks about the absolute preparation that is the hallmark of most NASA space engineers - being prepared for every little casualty, having constant debriefing sessions with your teammates, not taking anything for granted. Aim to be a zero concentrates on how one should be humble all the time and always have an attitude which is working towards the goal of the agency rather than your own personal goals. He beautifully mentions incidents, where you have to aim to be a zero - as in someone with a clean slate - and not act over-smart or overconfident, as that can lead you to overlook things, which negates the ‘Sweating the small stuff’ lesson.
I also found the non-work (technically speaking they aren’t really non-work related) aspects of an astronaut’s life that Hadfield talks about interesting. Prioritising time with family despite the countless training and practise sessions with NASA, being one. Never letting your ego get the better of you when it comes to working as a team, being another. Always staying focussed on your dreams and working towards it with an unending thirst.
I was also fascinated by the fact that astronauts have to be quarantined for a couple of weeks before their flight - to avoid contraction of any disease from family or friends. He gives many instances of how the space agencies arrived at this decision, after some untoward incidents int he past. It is a tough life for an astronaut, something we outsiders tend to overlook amidst the glory of the person having travelled in space. The fact that for the astronauts themselves, humility is important and is displayed, is refreshing. Hadfield beautifully words it thus, “At NASA, it’s just a given that today’s star will be tomorrow’s stage hand, going behind the scenes in relative obscurity.”
The part of him becoming a Social Media Rockstar, all thanks to his son Evan’s help and social-media savvy, forms a small part towards the end of the book. And I am happy that he devoted only a small part of the book to that aspect, as most of that story has been covered in the international press countless times.
Space agencies' inside traditions such as peeing on the back of the truck tyre in Kazakhasthan, singing Russian songs or watching particular movies before launch, provide a nice outside-in view of the light human aspects of what are life-altering space missions. The fact that sometimes astronauts aboard the ISS are guinea pigs for NASA medical specialists on earth is also described with a fun element. However, it is not all roses inside the space station. Hadfield also touches upon the imminent danger one faces while in space - the ammonia leak incident or the emergency space walk incident towards the end of Expedition 34/35, for instance. Drives home the point that space travel requires great preparation and the ability to operate under pressure, else your life could be at stake. And Hadfield mentions the dangerous aspects in a very matter-of-fact ways.
It is a great book to read, if you are already fascinated by the work being done by space agencies across the world. For those who aren’t, it is still a nice window into the life of one profession that takes years of multi-disciplinary training.
Some of the quotes from the book that I really loved
- Ultimately, leadership is not about glorious crowning acts. It's about keeping your team focused on a goal and motivated to do their best to achieve it, especially when the stakes are high and the consequences really matter.
- If you start thinking that only your biggest and shiniest moments count, you're setting yourself up to feel like a failure most of the time
- At NASA it's just a given that today's star will be tomorrow's stage hand, going behind the scenes in relative obscurity
- I also know that most people including me, tend to applaud the wrong things: the showy, dramatic record setting sprint rather than the years of dogged preparation or the unwavering grace displayed during a string of losses
- Life is just a lot better if you feel you're having 10 wins a day rather than a win every 10 years or so
Main Image Courtesy: Canada.com
