The character arc of Chris Hadfield
Born 29 August 1959 in Sarnia, Ontario, raised on a corn farm near Milton. Between then and now sit a boy who decided at nine to become an astronaut in a country that had no astronaut and no space agency, a fighter and test pilot, three flights to space, the first spacewalk by a Canadian, command of the International Space Station, and a cover of Space Oddity sung in orbit. The line below draws the story so far, in order.
Tap the line to pluck it. Hover or tap any mark for its card. Drawn from the public record of his life; the sources are at the foot of the page.
Who is Chris Hadfield?
He decided at nine, and never looked away.
He was nine years old, on a corn farm in Ontario, when he watched the Apollo 11 Moon landing on television and decided he would be an astronaut. There was no sensible way to want this. Canada had no astronaut, no space agency, and the Americans required their own citizens. So he did the only thing a boy could do with an impossible dream: he lived as though it were possible, pointing what he ate, studied and practised at a door that might never open.
The door took twenty three years to open. He flew gliders as a cadet, became a fighter pilot, and graduated top of his class at test pilot school. In 1992 the young Canadian Space Agency chose him from more than five thousand who applied. He flew to the Mir station in 1995, and in 2001 became the first Canadian to walk in space, installing the great robotic arm on the new station. On that spacewalk an anti-fog solution stung his eyes and blinded him, and he kept working while it cleared, because he had prepared for the day something went wrong.
In 2013 he took command of the International Space Station, the first Canadian to do so, and taught millions from orbit how a body sleeps, cries and wrings out a cloth with no gravity to help. His cover of Space Oddity, filmed weightless, was watched around the world. What he teaches on the ground is preparation, competence and wonder, and one plain rule from his book: there is no problem so bad you cannot make it worse.
The moments
Chris Hadfield's timeline.
The 1960s
Decided at nine
Milestone, and it changed his direction. A farm boy watched Apollo 11 land on the Moon and chose the life he would spend decades earning.
A safe life, or an impossible one
Crossroads, decided.
The paths laid out: aim at space anyway, taken, or choose a reachable life. He lived as though it were possible for twenty three years, and in 1992 the Canadian Space Agency chose him.
The 1970s
A dream with no path
Setback, and it changed his direction. Canada had no astronaut and no space agency, and the Americans flew their own citizens. He aimed anyway.
The 1980s
Top test pilot graduate
Milestone. A fighter pilot who finished first in his test pilot class, one more door pushed toward the one that mattered.
The 1990s
Chosen from thousands
Milestone, and it changed everything. One of four chosen from more than five thousand who applied. The impossible dream now had a badge.
First flight, to Mir
Milestone, and it changed his direction. His first flight, and the only Canadian ever to board the Mir station. Twenty six years after the farm.
The 2000s
First Canadian spacewalk
Milestone, and it changed everything. He floated out to fit the station's great robotic arm, the first Canadian to walk in open space.
Blinded in open space
Setback. An anti-fog solution stung his eyes, and with no gravity the tears could not fall. He kept working while it cleared.
The 2010s
Launch to command
Milestone, and it changed his direction. A Soyuz carried him up for a five month stay, the mission that would end with him in charge.
First Canadian commander
Milestone, and it changed everything. He took command of the International Space Station, the first Canadian ever to hold the post.
A song from orbit
Milestone. His weightless cover of Space Oddity, filmed aboard the station, was watched around the world.
Home after five months
Milestone, and it changed his direction. The Soyuz set down on the steppe of Kazakhstan, ending the mission that made him a household name.
The guide he wrote
Milestone. He set down what space had taught him about preparation, competence and wonder, and it topped the lists.
The line reaches today still adding to itself, which is why it is drawn now rather than at the end. What it set moving is already everywhere: the millions who watched him sing from orbit and understood that space was for them too, and every child who was told a dream was impossible and decided to prepare for it anyway.
Your turn
Every story draws a unique line.
His took more than fifty years and is still going. Yours is already further along than you think, and drawing it takes about three minutes.
Sources
- Chris Hadfield, An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth, 2013.
- Canadian Space Agency, astronaut biography of Chris Hadfield.
- The Canadian Encyclopedia, Chris Hadfield.
- NASA mission records: STS-74 (1995), STS-100 (2001), and Expedition 34 and 35 (2012 to 2013).
- Encyclopaedia Britannica, Chris Hadfield.