Book info

• Title Spaceman
• Author Mike Massimino
• Year 2016
• Genre Memoir

Many children dream of becoming an astronaut when they grow up, but when a six-year-old Mike Massimino saw Neil Armstrong walk on the moon he knew what he wanted to do when he became an adult. But NASA rejected him; then when he applied again they turned him down because of his poor eyesight. For the next year he trained his eyes to work better and finally, at the third time of asking, NASA accepted him. So began Massimino's 18-year career as an astronaut, and the extraordinary lengths he went to to get accepted was only the beginning. In this awe-inspiring memoir, he reveals the hard work, camaraderie and sheer guts involved in the life of an astronaut; he vividly describes what it is like to strap yourself into the Space Shuttle and blast off into space, or the sensation of walking in space, as he did when he completed a mission to service the Hubble telescope. He also talks movingly about the Columbia tragedy, and how it felt to step into the Space Shuttle again in the aftermath of that disaster.

Thoughts

I was feeling a little guilty when I started reading this that I only really knew ‘Mass’ for his stint on The Big Bang Theory, but he mentions that in the book and it doesn’t come across as a bad thing. In fact, he’s got a great attitude that once you’re done flying, your best job is to generate awareness and excitement by inspiring the next batch of youngsters into the sciences, even if that is through a slightly nerdy sitcom.

The fresh inspirational take on an astronaut’s journey is present throughout this story, because Mike had to fight hard to get on board, overcome obstacles that seemed insurmountable, and learn how to take rejection and turn it into motivation.

The rewards are clear to see, but I like the honest approach of admitting the moments where it was easier to take the safe option, even if it wasn’t necessarily the right thing to do. A really good book, whether you’re a budding astronaut or not.

Rating: 4 / 5