Chris Austin HadfieldOC OOnt MSC CD (born August 29, 1959) is a Canadian retired astronaut, engineer, fighter pilot, musician, and writer. The first Canadian to perform extravehicular activity in outer space, he has flown two Space Shuttle missions and also served as commander of the International Space Station (ISS). Prior to his career as an astronaut, he served in the Canadian Armed Forces for 25 years as an Air Command fighter pilot.
Hadfield has cited part of his career inspiration to have come to him as a child, when he watched the first crewed Moon landing by American spaceflight Apollo 11 on television. He attended high school in Oakville and Milton in southern Ontario, and earned his glider pilot licence as a member of the Royal Canadian Air Cadets. After enlisting in the Canadian Armed Forces, he earned an engineering degree at the Royal Military College in Kingston, Ontario. Hadfield learned to fly various types of aircraft in the military and eventually became a test pilot, flying several experimental planes. As part of an exchange program with the United States Navy and United States Air Force, he obtained a master's degree in aviation systems at the University of Tennessee Space Institute.
In 1992, Hadfield was accepted into the Canadian astronaut program by the Canadian Space Agency. He first flew in space in November 1995 as a mission specialist aboard STS-74, visiting the Russian space station Mir. He flew again in April 2001 on STS-100, when he visited the ISS and walked in space to help install Canadarm2. In December 2012, he flew for a third time aboard Soyuz TMA-07M to join Expedition 34 on the ISS. When Expedition 34 ended in March 2013, Hadfield became the commander of the ISS as part of Expedition 35, responsible for a crew of five astronauts and helping to run dozens of scientific experiments dealing with the impact of low gravity on human biology. During this mission, he chronicled life onboard the space station by taking pictures of Earth and posting them on various social media platforms. He was a guest on television news and talk shows and gained popularity by playing the ISS's guitar in space. Hadfield returned to Earth in May 2013, when the mission ended. He announced his retirement shortly after returning, capping a 35-year-long career as a military pilot and astronaut. He has five published books including his autobiography, the NYT-bestseller An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth.
Chris Austin Hadfield OC OOnt MSC CD (born August 29, 1959) is a Canadian retired astronaut, engineer, fighter pilot, musician, and writer. The first...
Internet hoax that purports to show an image of Canadian astronaut ChrisHadfield holding a large baggie of cannabis to demonstrate an experiment concerning...
released songs that reference Major Tom. A 2013 cover by astronaut ChrisHadfield gained widespread attention; its music video was the first filmed in...
March 2013, and marked the first time a Canadian astronaut – Colonel ChrisHadfield – was in command of the station. Expedition 35 was also only the second...
Sarnia ChrisHadfield Airport (IATA: YZR, ICAO: CYZR) is located 4 nautical miles (7.4 km; 4.6 mi) east northeast of Sarnia, Ontario, Canada. Opened in...
On' by Astronauts ChrisHadfield and Catherine Coleman". Rare Earth – via YouTube. Hudson, Alex (September 11, 2015). "ChrisHadfield – "Ride That Lightning"...
toured the Lunar Base 2025 Experience. On 13 December 2013, Commander ChrisHadfield visited the National Space Centre to meet the visitors and to promote...
BBC documentary "to me, it was 100% Major Tom". Canadian astronaut ChrisHadfield performed "Space Oddity" on board the International Space Station (ISS)...
Bjarni Tryggvason and Steve MacLean. The second, in 1992, selected ChrisHadfield, Julie Payette, Dafydd Williams and Michael McKay. On May 13, 2009,...
recorded and transmitted to Earth. Canadian Space Agency astronaut ChrisHadfield, commander of Expedition 35 to the International Space Station, recorded...
services, is provided by Sarnia Transit. From the city's local Sarnia ChrisHadfield Airport, Jazz Aviation operated services to and from Toronto Pearson...
recorded by his brother Commander ChrisHadfield, which is the first album of music recorded off the planet Earth. Hadfield is known for his wilderness songs...
Miniverse is hosted by former International Space Station Commander Colonel ChrisHadfield. The concept of the film is to bring the expanse of the Solar System...
Arctic expedition through the Northwest Passage with Canadian astronaut ChrisHadfield and a collection of artists from around the world. He won two Canadian...
Thirsk returned to Earth aboard a Soyuz spacecraft. Canadian astronaut ChrisHadfield, the first Canadian Commander of the ISS, would go on to achieve worldwide...
Navy (3 flights) STS-41-G Challenger STS-77 Endeavour STS-97 Endeavour ChrisHadfield (born 1959), Royal Canadian Air Force (3 flights) STS-74 Atlantis STS-100...
performer, and has collaborated with artists including David Bowie and ChrisHadfield. Gryner's childhood was spent in Forest, Ontario. Her father was of...
Will Smith, One Strange Rock features contributions from astronauts ChrisHadfield, Nicole Stott, Jeffrey A. Hoffman, Mae Jemison, Leland Melvin, Mike...
football player Chris Godwin (born 1996), American football player Chris Gragg (born 1990), American football player ChrisHadfield (born 1959), Canadian...
J. Garan Jr. Michael L. Gernhardt Christopher E. Gerty David Gruber ChrisHadfield Jeremy Hansen José M. Hernández John Herrington Paul Hill Akihiko Hoshide...
Pilot School. This award was also conferred to his fellow astronaut ChrisHadfield in 1988. Kutryk was selected by the Canadian Space Agency to undergo...
of private space travel. Michael Collins, Yuri Gagarin, Ron Garan, ChrisHadfield, James Irwin, Mae Jemison, Scott Kelly, André Kuipers, Jerry Linenger...
School class 88A along with future Canadian Space Agency astronaut ChrisHadfield. Upon completion of test pilot school, Husband served as a test pilot...
works Samra Habib photographer, memoirist We Have Always Been Here ChrisHadfield 1959 scientist, memoirist, essayist, musician An Astronaut's Guide to...