An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth: What Going to Space Taught Me About Ingenuity, Determination, and Being Prepared for Anything

After a few years of doing that pretty much daily, you’ve forged the strongest possible armor to defend against fear: hard-won competence.

While play-acting grim scenarios day in and day out may sound like a good recipe for clinical depression, it’s actually weirdly uplifting. Rehearsing for catastrophe has made me positive that I have the problem-solving skills to deal with tough situations and come out the other side smiling. For me, this has greatly reduced the mental and emotional

In space flight, “attitude” refers to orientation: which direction your vehicle is pointing relative to the Sun, Earth and other spacecraft. If you lose control of your attitude, two things happen: the vehicle starts to tumble and spin, disorienting everyone on board, and it also strays from its course, which, if you’re short on time or fuel, could

The problem was simple: I’d decided I was already a pretty good pilot, good enough that I didn’t need to fret over every last detail. And it’s true, you don’t need to obsess over details if you’re willing to roll the dice and accept whatever happens. But if you’re striving for excellence—whether it’s in playing the guitar or flying a jet—there’s no

Time-honored astronaut traditions make us feel we’re part of the tribe, and there were plenty of them during our final hours in quarantine.

See, a funny thing happened on the way to space: I learned how to live better and more happily here on Earth. Over time, I learned how to anticipate problems in order to prevent them, and how to respond effectively in critical situations. I learned how to neutralize fear, how to stay focused and how to succeed.

Preparation is not only about managing external risks, but about limiting the likelihood that you’ll unwittingly add to them.

Some ASCANs’ marriages implode, partly because of the strain on the spouses but largely, I think, because of the astronauts’ struggle to adapt to a new place in the pecking order.

“Boldface” is a pilot term, a magic word to describe the procedures that could, in a crisis, save your life.