The Ordinary Spaceman: From Boyhood Dreams to Astronaut

399 Pages·2015·21.17 MB·English

by  Clayton C. Anderson

ORDINARY SPACEMAN
THE

ORDINARY
THE
SPACEMAN
From Boyhood
Dreams to Astronaut
Clay ton C. Anderson
Foreword by NEVADA BARR
University of Nebraska Press
Lincoln & London
© 2015 by Clayton C. Anderson.
Foreword © 2015 by the Board of Regents of
the University of Nebraska
All rights reserved
Manufactured in the United States of America
Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
Anderson, Clayton C., 1959–
The ordinary spaceman: from boyhood dreams
to astronaut / Clayton C. Anderson; foreword by
Nevada Barr.
pages cm
isbn 978- 0- 8032- 6282- 9 (cloth: alk. paper)
isbn 978- 0- 8032- 7731- 1 (ePub)
isbn 978- 0- 8032- 7732- 8 (mobi)
isbn 978- 0- 8032- 7733- 5 (pdf).
1. Anderson, Clayton C., 1959– . 2. Astronauts—
United States— Biography. 3. United States—
National Aeronautics and Space Administration—
Biography. 4. International Space Station.
5. Extravehicular activity (Manned space
flight). I. Title.
tl789.85.a53a3 2015
629.450092— dc23
[B]
2014048858
Set in Minion Pro by Lindsey Auten.
To Dex, a true and honest leader of men and women,
whose time both on and off this Earth was far too short.
To all my crewmates:
C.J., Bru, Swany, Pat, Danny, and J.R. of sts- 117
Fyodor, Oleg, and Suni of Expedition 15
Scott, Scorch, Rick, Davyd, T.C., Babs, and B. Alvin
of sts- 118
Yuri, Peggy, and Sheikh of Expedition 16
Pambo, Zambo, Flambo, Longbow, Robo, Rocky,
and Bo- ichi of sts- 120
Dex, Mash, Rick, Dottie (Cheese!), Naoko, and
Stephanie of sts- 131
You have shared your lives on terra firma and in
outer space with me, and I am forever grateful to you
for allowing me that wonderful opportunity.
To my Group 17 “Penguin” classmates of 1998: while I
may not have flown with all of you, I was always hon-
ored to be one of you.
For my mother and father and my brother and sister,
who taught me that giving up is never an option . . .
. . . and for my wife, son, and daughter, who taught
me why.

CONTENTS
Foreword
by Nevada Barr ix
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction xiii
1. First Flight 1
2. Beginnings 17
3. Freshman Fifteen 35
4. Hey, There’s an App for That! 47
5. Answer the Phone, Will Ya? 63
6. Baby Astronauts 81
7. Hail Columbia! 89
8. Age of Aquarius 113
9. From Russia with Love 131
10. Survival of the Fittest 159
11. Sign of the Times 181
12. Sixty- Two and Counting 193
13. Dark Days of Summer 205
14. Crime and Punishment 217
15. The “Void” of Outer Space 235
16. The Doctor Is In 243
17. The Hard Thump of Reality 259
18. The Serendipity of Chance 277
19. Walking Tall 289
20. Fame and Fortune 299
21. Find Us Faithful 311
22. Impacts 331
23. The End Becomes the Beginning 343

FOREWORD
Nevada Barr
I have known Clay Anderson for many years. We met at a National
Education Association conference shortly after his daughter was
born. He sang at my wedding and called me from outer space so
I could yell “Love you!” into the black reaches of the universe.
Since meeting Clay, I have met several presidents and first ladies
and a handful of celebrities, but he remains the only astronaut
I know. They are rare, these individuals who orbit around our
world, and Clay is everything one could want in a hero: tall, well
built, well married, honest, forthright, and, ironically for an astro-
naut, down- to- earth.
In reading Clay’s The Ordinary Spaceman you get no sense of
separation between the reader and the event; it is as if your best
friend is taking you with him under the sea, to Russia, freezing
and floating and trying to find a way to eat and pee without grav-
ity. The trip is personal and fun. Reading this book is the next
best thing to becoming an astronaut yourself. Maybe the best
thing, since you can share all the wild adventures Clay had with-
out ever having to spend hours curled up like a fetus getting fit-
ted for a space suit or slogging through a Russian winter to prove
you have the Right Stuff.
Prepare to launch.