Chris Austin Hadfield

Chris Austin Hadfield, M.S.C.,C.D.*, B.Sc., M.Sc., 0.0., LLD. (Hon), D. Eng. (Hon), was born in Sarnia, Ontario on August 29, 1959 and raised on a farm near Milton, Ontario. His is a flying family, and he became interested in flying at an early age.

In July 1969, he watched television as Neil Armstrong stepped onto the moon, and he resolved then that he would become an astronaut. This resolve governed everything he did from then on and he excelled at every challenge. As an Air Cadet, he won glider and powered pilot scholarships and graduated with honours from Milton High School in 1977.

Hadfield joined the Canadian Armed Forces in May 1978. He studied at Royal Roads Military College in Victoria, B.C. and Royal Military College at Kingston, Ontario, graduating with a B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering, with honours, in 1982. In addition to his honours studies, he was top pilot at basic flying training at Portage La Prairie, Manitoba in 1980.

He returned to flight training and was overall top graduate at Basic Jet Training at Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan in 1982-83. He completed fighter and CF-18 training at the military base at Cold Lake, Alberta in 1984-1985.

For the next three years, Hadfield was with No. 425 Squadron, flying CF-18's for NORAD (North American Air Defence). In June 1985 Colonel Hadfield flew the first CF-18 intercept of a Soviet "Bear" long range patrol aircraft on the east coast of Canada. He attended the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base in California and was presented with the 1988 Liethen-Tittle Award for top graduate.

Upon graduation, he served as an exchange officer with the U.S. Navy at the Patuxent River Naval Air Station in Maryland. From 1989 to 1992, he flight tested the F/A-18 and A-7 aircraft. He performed research work with NASA on pitch control margin simulation, test flew the first military flight of F/A-18 enhanced performance engines, piloted the first flight test of the National Aerospace Plane external burning hydrogen propulsion system, developed a new rating scale for handling qualities in high angle-of-attack tests, and participated in the extremely dangerous F/A-18 out-of-control recovery test program.

While on this exchange posting, Colonel Hadfield was named the U.S. Navy Test Pilot of the year 1991. He also attended the University of Tennessee at this time, where he received a Master of Science degree in aviation systems in 1992.

In June 1992 Hadfield was selected to become one of four new Canadian astronauts from a field of 5000 applicants. He was assigned by the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) to the NASA Johnson Space Centre in Houston, Texas in August of that year, where he addressed technical and safety issues for Shuttle Operations, contributed to the development of the glass shuttle cockpit, and supported shuttle launches at the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida. He was NASA'S Chief CAPCOM, the voice of mission control to astronauts in orbit for 25 space shuttle missions.

In November 1995 Hadfield made his first flight into space. He served as Mission Specialist #1 on STS-74, NASA'S second space shuttle mission to rendezvous and dock with the Russian Space Station Mir. During the 8-day, 129 orbit flight, the crew of Space Shuttle Atlantis successfully attached a five-tonne docking module to Mir and transferred over 1000 kg of food, water, and scientific supplies to the cosmonauts. Hadfield flew as the first Canadian mission specialist, the first Canadian to operate the Canadarm in orbit, and the only Canadian ever to board Mir.

From 1996 to 2000, Hadfield served as the Chief Astronaut for the CSA, representing Canadian astronauts and co-ordinating their activities.

Hadfield was selected for a second space flight, and in April 2001 he was Mission Specialist #1 on STS-100, International Space Station (ISS) assembly Flight 6A. The crew of Space Shuttle Endeavour delivered Canadarm 2, the new Canadian-built robotic arm. During this flight, he performed two space walks while installing Canadarm 2. He tells about a quiet moment during the assembly work when he gently eased away from the side of the station, floating free, barely holding on to a flimsy fabric strap, and looking out at beautiful Mother Earth, the Space Station and the vast darkness of the universe beyond.

This flight made Hadfield the first Canadian to ever leave a spacecraft and float free in space. In total he spent more than 14 hours outside of the spacecraft while orbiting 10 times around the earth. The entire STS-100 Mission was accomplished in 11 1/2 days, during which time the shuttle travelled 7.9 million km and orbited the earth 187 times.

From 2000 to 2003 Hadfield was the Director of Operations for NASA at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre in Star City, Russia. His work included coordination and direction of all ISS crew activities in Russia, the overseeing of training and crew support staff, as well as policy negotiation with the Russian Space Program. He also trained and became fully qualified to be a flight engineer cosmonaut in the Soyuz TMA spacecraft, and to perform space walks in the Russian Orlan space suit.

Hadfield is a member of the Royal Military College Club, the Society of Experimental Test Pilots, and the Canadian Aeronautics and Space Institute. He has received many honours in recognition of his accomplishments. In addition to twice being named Top Test Pilot of the Year, he has received an Honorary Doctorate of Engineering from the Royal Military College in 1996, Honorary Doctor of Laws from Trent University in 1999. He was made a Member of the Order of Ontario in 1996 and received the Vanier Award in 2001, the Meritorious Service Cross in 2001, the NASA Exceptional Service Medal in 2002, and the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal in 2003.

Hadfield retired in 2013 as a civilian astronaut, having retired as a Colonel from the Canadian Air Force in 2003 after 25 years of military service. He was Chief of Robotics for NASA at the Johnson Space Centre in Houston, Texas. He and his family returned to Canada in 2013, and he maintains his interests in music and sports. He is an inspiration to young Canadians, devoting many hours to encouraging students to pursue their education and follow their dreams.

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 Centre in Houston from 2005-2006, 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. His book “An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth” was published in 2013. Among his new challenges Chris Hadfield is a regular contributor on CBC's "The National" and on CBC Radio One.

In 2003 Canada Post unveiled its space-themed series of collector stamps honouring all eight Canadian astronauts who have flown on NASA space shuttles. Marc Garneau, Roberta Bondar, Steve MacLean, Chris Hadfield, Robert Thirsk, Bjarni Tryggvason, Dave Williams and Julie Payette. They served on a total of 11 separate missions.

Chris Austin Hadfield was inducted as a Member of Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame in 2005 at ceremonies held in Edmonton, Alberta.