Retired Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield is set to speak at Carleton’s 2018 SOAR Student Leadership Conference on Jan. 27.
Hadfield is the first Canadian to walk in space and to command the International Space Station, where a video of him singing David Bowie’s “Space Oddity” was widely viewed. He has worked in many other jobs, including working as a musician, an engineer, and as an air pilot for the Royal Canadian Air Force.
The Charlatan had the chance to speak with Hadfield about his career, life lessons, and passions.
The Charlatan (TC): What is your most memorable moment from space?
Chris Hadfield (CH): If you were going to space and you had an hour to do something, I would recommend going outside. To do a space walk, truly alone out in the universe, just you inside your space suit, holding the outside of a spaceship with one hand, with the enormity of the world silently turning on one side, and the eternity of the universe yawning around you in three dimensions—it’s probably the most magnificent part of the whole thing. I’m not sure if that’s the most memorable moment in space, but it’s the one I recommend the highest.
TC: You said in a TED talk that you dreamed of being an astronaut from a very young age. How did you manage to accomplish such a dream?
CH: The important part in accomplishing a dream initially is having one, or many, but keeping it in the backdrop of your life as an underlying, recurring thing, to help you make choices . . . I decided to be an astronaut when I was nine, and it just helped me make all of the little decisions: Should I go to university? Should I keep my body in shape? What should I do tonight? So part of it is holding that dream dear and helping it to guide your choices. Part of it is tenaciousness, and just recognizing that your life will not go as planned . . . Be patient with yourself and your time, And then it takes a lot of luck. If I were 10 years older or 10 years younger, if I had had some accident, or if I was born in a country without a space program, [my life] wouldn’t have gone the way it did. But all those combined together allowed me to be an astronaut and serve in the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) for 21 years, and go to fly in space three times. It still amazes me that I accomplished that dream.
TC: You also said that you faced a one-in-35 or so risk of a catastrophic event when you went to space. What is the value of fear, and how do you overcome it?
CH: I’ve flown three different rocket ships, and the more you fly a rocket ship, the more you understand how it can fail. The very first time you fly it, it’s all a big guess, because you’ve never actually flown one before . . . Often we express risk as fear. People say ‘oh that must be scary,’ but things aren’t scary, just people are scared, and there’s a difference. Just because something scares you when you’re five-years-old doesn’t mean it’s going to scare you when you’re 20-years-old, and the thing hasn’t changed, it’s just your ability to deal with it. The biggest antidote for fear is competence, and that’s how you learn to ride a bike, and [drive] a car, and do all the tests that you’ve done in your life, and it works for spaceships too . . . so, you have something going for you other than fear. So, I think it’s worthwhile internally to say, ‘if I’m afraid, how come? What is it that’s making me fearful?’ and then try and see that maybe it’s because you’re not ready for what you’re doing. Maybe there’s a better way to prepare for it next time, rather than just counting on gut instinct and nervous reaction.
TC: What would you like students to learn from your life and leadership?
CH: When I was born, space flight wasn’t difficult– it was impossible. When I was born, there was no such thing as an astronaut or a cosmonaut. No one had ever flown in space. . . . I think that’s worth remembering. Impossible things happen, and they happen as the result of someone having a vision, and then pursuing it, and then working with others, and then incrementally getting better and better at something until we’re doing something that never could have happened before.
And then from the leadership side, recognize that no matter who you are, you are a leader. Every decision you make is a step toward leadership. And we need leaders to visualize things that don’t exist yet and then, to organize themselves in groups to accomplish things, and you influence the people around you. If you choose not to step forward, then that’s a form of leadership. If you choose to step forward, then that also is a form of leadership. And we need leaders. We need people to visualize things that don’t exist yet and then to try and organize themselves in groups to accomplish things . . . Otherwise why have a university? Recognize that you are a part of that, and that each change you make in yourself is a deliberate step toward making something possible that used to be impossible.
TC: For those of us who won’t be spending time in space, how can we get experiences as “out of this world” as you have had?
CH: I think the pursuit of things that are important to you is where the great richness of experience is, no matter what planet you’re on . . . The best experience I’ve had on this Earth [though]: I was in the delivery room for the birth of all three of my children. That’s a magnificent thing to see: the continuity of life and your part in it. But I’ve also just had so much fun playing music on stage with some terrific musicians and people who are just really good at what they do . . . The world is full of really good, talented people, and having a chance to get to know some of them is a real privilege as well. I think flying in space just deepens your appreciation for all of that. It’s not just pretty pictures, it’s actually seeing the whole world for real, with no one telling you what to think, no one interpreting it for you, no agenda.
TC: I remember watching you play music in space when I was a kid. How would you say your passion for music developed throughout your life?
CH: I grew up in a musical household. My mom is a very good musician, she’s a natural musician, she’s trained to play piano, she’s a good harmony singer, and I grew up on a farm so we used music to celebrate significant events [like] holidays. And all of my brothers and sisters—there are five of us—they’re all musicians of varying levels and my brother Dave and I bought a guitar together at an auction sale when we were just around 10 or 12-years-old . . . so, he and I were writing music together as pre-teens, and young adolescents, and we still do . . . Music is always playing in my head, like most people, and to me it helps explain the complexity and indescribability of life. Music is just another language to try and express what you’re feeling. So that’s basically where it all came from.
TC: You’ve been to Ottawa before. What are looking forward to seeing again?
CH: This time of year it’s [Winterlude] and skating on the canal. In fact, my wife’s coming with me just so we can spend the afternoon between the two performances [on Jan. 27] skating. As a Canadian, I’m very much a winter sports kind of guy . . . There’s the best flying museum in Canada just across the river in Gatineau, called Vintage Wings [of Canada]. There’s an amazing collection of human invention in there . . . And then just walking around Parliament and the history of Canada that’s right there.
TC: Is there anything else you would like to add?
CH: I’m very much looking forward to being [at Carleton] of course . . . especially talking to students, because they’re at the stage of life where new ideas are bread and butter, and they’re choosing what they’re going to do with their lives. And the future is not our grandiose statements; the future is just the direct result of all the decisions that we make., and the students are making all those decisions early in their lives now to affect the future of themselves and us all. So to me, it’s a wonderful privilege to have that audience to talk to.
