The Life of an Astronaut

Question: What's it like to be an astronaut?

Answer: Being an astronaut is indeed the greatest job in the universe. It is challenging and rewarding, full of stress and excitement, and a whole lot of fun. I felt extremely proud in representing my country and undertaking such a noble endeavor that put me in situations and environments experienced by few in human history.

I spent a total of 167 days living and working in outer space. I had the opportunity to perform six different space walks while helping to build and maintain the International Space Station (ISS). I also had the privilege of seeing our beautiful home planet every single day from a vista some 225 nautical miles above it. And I got to perform a multitude of science experiments that may one day lead to advances benefiting people around the world.

For more details on my personal life as an astronaut, you might want to check out my first book, The Ordinary Spaceman: From Boyhood Dreams to Astronaut. Here's a short section to give you a flavor of what being a brand-new astronaut is like:

Being a novice astronaut, the phone call that ultimately blew me away was the one I received from the PE (Personal Equipment) Shop at nearby Ellington Field. I was told I would be receiving a "holey joe" (NASA lingo for interoffice mail envelope) containing a couple of forms for me to fill out. Once that task was completed, I would then be able to head out to Ellington Field for a meeting, the content of which was not clear.

For me to be journeying to Ellington Field was a major deal. This was a special, almost revered place where United States astronauts challenged the skies in high performance T-38 jets. So recently bestowed with the title of astronaut, I still considered myself an outsider. I was in awe as I headed for Hangar 276.

Question: Do astronauts have stable family lives?

Answer: Remember, this answer is my opinion and my opinion only. My priorities have always been, first, God; second, family; and, third, astronaut/career.

I have a very stable family life, full of love. My wife and I celebrated twenty-five years of marriage in 2017, and we are very, very proud of the two young people we have raised. But those twenty-five (and counting) years have not been free from stresses and struggles during my career as an astronaut. Some of those stories are told in The Ordinary Spaceman. But I have never ever been unfaithful to my wife, never.

The divorce rate is high in the astronaut world. When I became an astronaut in 1998, it was said to be about 35 percent, which I think is way too high. While some may argue that is a normal or reasonable rate for the United States, I counter with the statement that "astronauts are supposed to be the 'cream of the crop,' high achievers that do whatever they set their minds to." So, if that's the case, shouldn't we be able to keep our relationships strong and stable — even through tough times?

Question: Has any astronaut ever desired to stay in space instead of returning to Earth after mission accomplishment? What I mean by "stay in space" is "stay working in the space station and not be left in space to die."

Answer: This is a very interesting question for me and something I had to think about.

When the Discovery mission space transportation system (STS)-120 launched in late October 2007, I finally knew I was going home. I had spent nearly five months living and working aboard the ISS, but I worked extremely hard not to think about returning to Earth. I needed to keep my focus on the mission and not start daydreaming of reuniting with my family for fear something would happen to upset the apple cart and cause me to make a mistake.

My wife and I had discussed this many times. "What-ifs" abound with regard to the negative possibilities a space launch and mission could entail (think of the Challenger and Columbia). In the latter portion of my five-month stay, we had both agreed we could stick it out a little longer. By that we meant postponing our longed-for reunion for another month or two would be survivable although not necessarily desirable. Anything much longer than that would have presented a hardship for both of us.

You may ask, Why? Why would an astronaut — living the dream, flying in outer space, pushing the boundaries of science, becoming more famous with every single day and every single tweet — want to come back? Why not stay up longer and do more good for our planet and the people of our world? My answer is simple: I had a wife and children I loved. My place was back on Earth, and Twitter didn't exist then. Don't forget that my spouse was running our entire household all by herself and for much longer than the relatively short time I was in space. She had become the focus of our kids and our family's chief operations officer way earlier when I started to travel back and forth to Russia during my three and a half years of training. She assumed every role: mom, dad, nurse, lawn caretaker, chauffeur, repair person, counselor, financier. You name it, she did it. She had sacrificed much, including her own career advancement, so I could live my dream. It was time for me to be home for her and hold up my end of our marriage vows. After all, she had a career too. To me, that's what love is all about.

Please understand, my time in space was wonderful. It was thrilling, it was incredibly demanding and gratifying, and it was a blast! I would love to go back, but on my terms, not NASA's. My life's priorities are not negotiable, and my family is right there at the top.

Question: What is the typical age of American astronauts?

Answer: NASA has all of those statistics available. Check the Astronaut Fact Book, which is available on the websitewww.nasa.gov.

I was selected at the age of thirty-nine. Others, such as Tammy Jernigan, have been selected as young as twenty-five years old. The oldest selected was John Phillips at around age forty-six; his astronaut classmates called him Fossil. If asked to guess off the top of my head, I would say an average age would be around thirty-five years old.

Question: Why were there so many astronaut applications in 2016? There were more than eighteen thousand applicants applying for the 2017 NASA astronaut class, shattering the record of eight thousand in 1978. What factors attributed to this giant boom?

Answer: I think the answer to why there were so many astronaut applications in 2016 is pretty simple: social media.

When I applied and was finally selected in 1998, some twenty-six-hundred-plus folks applied with me. Only twenty-five Americans and seven internationals were selected. That's a success rate of around 1...