Spaceman; An Astronaut's Unlikely Journey to Unlock the Secrets of the Universe

Crown Archetype, 2016. First Edition [Stated], First Printing [Stated]. Hardcover. Very good. Chad Griffith (Jacket Photography). xiv, 313, [9] pages. Illustrations (some in color). Michael James Massimino (born August 19, 1962) is an American professor of mechanical engineering at Columbia University and a former NASA astronaut. He is the senior advisor of space programs at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum. Selected as an astronaut candidate in May 1996, Massimino reported to the Johnson Space Center in August 1996. He completed two years of initial training and evaluation and qualified for flight assignment as a mission specialist. Prior to his first space flight assignment, Massimino served in the Astronaut Office Robotics Branch, and in the Astronaut Office Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Branch. He has served as a CAPCOM (spacecraft communicator) in Mission Control and performed other technical tasks in the Astronaut Office CAPCOM Branch. He flew on STS-109 Columbia (March 1-12, 2002) and STS-125 Atlantis (May 11-24, 2009). Derived from a Kirkus review: Massimino's memoir is a smooth combination of personal history and immersive storytelling. The author developed an obsession for the "reality of space travel" in his early years. Intensive academic studies at Columbia and MIT strengthened his resolve to pursue the space program. Being accepted into the NASA space program made his dreams come true. Massimino writes of training for six years prior to embarking on his first mission aboard the NASA space shuttle Columbia in 2002 on a mission to rendezvous with the Hubble Space Telescope. He suspensefully re-creates his second mission into space to repair the telescope. Massimino's memoir is stuffed with fascinating details about the unforeseen complications of weightlessness, the zero-gravity experience, and the intricate physical, psychological, and the situations involved in the actual spaceflight itself. Readers will find themselves glued to the page as the author makes a positive impact on the space program. A vivid, engrossing, and enthusiastically written memoir of aeronautic ambition.