Former NASA Astronaut Speaks in Salina

A Former NASA Astronaut and space walker walked onto the stage at the Tony’s Pizza Event Center. to speak at the Salina Area Chamber of Commerce’s annual banquet meeting.

Mike Massimino from Oceanside, NY, spoke about leadership, and his pathway on becoming an astronaut. He tells KSAL News he wanted to become an astronaut after being inspired by Neil Armstrong and watching the 1983 film “The Right Stuff.”

“I never thought I could be an astronaut, but I always wanted to be a part of the space field in some fashion” said Massimino.

Despite being rejected three times, he eventually became an astronaut on the fourth trial of his application. “I really wanted to be apart of NASA and there are so many opportunities in the field. I encourage those who are interested in becoming an astronaut to persevere and not give up” said Massimino.

He described the training regimen before going to space was “very complex and extensive.” He told KSAL News how important “executing a plan” is for a space mission.

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Massimino’s first space mission was aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia and his second was aboard the Space Shuttle Atlanta for Hubble Space Telescope servicing missions. After his 18-year career as an astronaut (1996 – 2014), he then became a mechanical engineering professor at Columbia University. He also appeared on the CBS hit show “The Big Bang Theory.”

Massimino holds a record for the number of hours space walking in a single space shuttle mission and was also the first person to tweet from space.

Several NASA accolades and awards he received were: