Ordinarily, I wouldn't devote an entire column to someone who, when he passed by my house, didn't even bother to wave back at me. Most people on the plains of Nebraska would think such behavior would be rude, right?
So why in the world am I writing about him?
Well, okay, let me explain something. The man I'm talking about wasn't really rude or even impolite. In fact, he had no idea who I was. It's true, he did "pass by" my house without waving, but cut him some slack. Back in 2010 when he went by my house, the man I'm referring to was flying at an elevation of 249 miles and orbiting the earth at an astonishing speed of about 17,150 miles an hour. And he was serving as part of the crew on the ISS (International Space Station).
(To give you an idea how fast 17,000 mph is, if you were to fire a rifle from one end of Memorial Stadium, the ISS would reach the other end zone before the bullet reached its own 10 yard line. Thanks to Whatif.com.)
ONE OF OURS
So who is this guy? His name is Clayton C. Anderson. (The "C" in his middle name should stand for "Cornhusker", but I'll get to that in a minute.) And if you don't know who Clayton is, he's Nebraska's very own astronaut -- as in NASA astronaut. He grew up in Ashland, Nebraska, graduating from Ashland/Greenwood High (no pun intended) in 1977. He then attended Hastings College in Nebraska where he graduated cum laude with a B.S. in Physics. And in 1983. he received a Masters of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering from Iowa State University.
He's written a very compelling book called "The Ordinary Spaceman."
THE WRITE STUFF
With Fathers Day coming up, what an ideal book to give (or to get), "The Ordinary Spaceman" is written by the author himself (some space books use ghost writers).
"Spaceman" is about a local boy (Ashland is about halfway between Omaha and Lincoln) who grew up dreaming of becoming an astronaut. What are the odds of being accepted into astronaut training?
OF ALL THE GIN JOINTS...
Let's see, there are 7.4 billion people on the planet and only 541 have ever been astronauts. His odds of winning the lottery would have been much better.
And for the record, Anderson was turned down 14 times before being accepted into the astronaut program -- that's 14 years of rejection slips. But on his 15th try, he hit the mother lode.
Clayton writes: "In 1998 more than twenty-six hundred applications were received in Houston's NASA Astronaut Selection Office. One of those was my fifteenth attempt. Of that number, 465 of us were deemed 'exceptionally well qualified.' NASA would then pare the number down to 120 hopefuls. These 120 wannabes were broken into six groups of twenty by the selection committee."
Each group underwent a thorough set of mental and physical tests. Of the original 2.600 applicants, only 25 were accepted -- that's less than one percent.
TEARS TO CHEERS
And even before he flew in space, Clayton served as an escort for the families of the space shuttle Columbia. And when the shuttle disintegrated upon re-entry on February 1, 2003, he was there with the grieving families. He heard one of the little girls whose father was killed in the tragedy ask, "Mommy, who's going to walk me down the aisle?" Wow.
And "Spaceman" also has some knee-slapping moments like when he talks about going potty in space for the first time. (Think Larry The Cable Guy.)
Clayton's story is one of perseverance, dedication, resolve and an overwhelming desire to succeed. And once he was accepted into astronaut training, the real work began. The training took him to such places as Russia. That's where, in the dead of winter, he joined a group of Russian astronaut trainees in a sweltering enclosed outdoor sauna. And after they had been sweating for a while, the entire group took an ice-cold plunge half-naked into a frigid lake.
AN EYE FOR FOOD
And there was the time he and his fellow wannabe astronauts attended a survival training course in the bitter Wyoming winter. It was there the group had to hunt for food. One of them killed a rabbit. It was skinned for the fur and food. And (why, I don't know) Clayton volunteered to eat one of the little bunny's eyeballs! Ewww!
Still want to be an astronaut? Or, how about the agony he suffered getting fitted for a Russian space suit? Or when he had to wear a diaper on launch day. Or how his body had to adjust to the effects of gravity, after spending over 150 days in the weightlessness of space.
And there were extensive underwater training stints at the Neutral Buoyancy Lab near the Johnson Space Center in Houston. The NBL in Houston is the world's largest indoor pool (6.2 million gallons of water).
And as you follow him through his adventures to Russia, the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the Johnson Space Center in Houston and the wilderness of Wyoming, Clayton never loses touch of his Nebraska roots. He grew up playing sports with his buddies and idolizing all the superheroes of the time: Batman, Superman, Spider Man, Wonder Woman. (Okay, I'm making up the Wonder Woman part.) And of course, he idolized Husker football greats like Jerry Tagge, Dave Humm, Johnny Rodgers and Jeff Kinney.
"C" IS FOR CORNHUSKER
Clayton told me that the first Husker football game he ever saw in person was Nebraska at Kansas in 1972 (Clayton was about 13 at the time.)
"We destroyed them that day. Johnny Rodgers ran wild and I think we beat 'em something like 56-0. I rode to the game from Ashland to Lawrence, Kansas, with my dad (John) and my brother (Kirby). I think we came back the same day."
Included in his book is a great photograph taken from space of Memorial Stadium on game day, October 20th, 2007, when the Texas A&M Aggies downed the Huskers, 36-14.
MORE REJECTION
Getting his book published was almost as daunting as his path to becoming an astronaut.
"I was turned down by 100 publishers before being accepted by the University of Nebraska Press." And the book's title changed a few times before being published. Clayton's late father's suggested the book be titled "Taking Up Space." The title went through several iterations before settling on "The Ordinary Spaceman."
THE ANSWERS, PLEASE
When you read "Spaceman" you'll know the answers to such things as:
1.) Why 15 is Clayton's lucky number.
2.) Why the word "bobs" made the Russian astronauts laugh so hard.
3.) What the significance of the butterfly incident was.
4.) Who George and Slice are.
5.) What is meant by "They had influence."
6.) What does space smell like?
7.) What it's like to walk in space.
If you're looking for a story only engineers and techno nerds can understand, this ain't your book. Clayton writes "Spaceman" as though he's talking directly to you and me.
THE NET SPECIAL
If you live in or near Nebraska, you can catch a special NET production about Clayton called "The Homemade Astronaut" which will air Wednesday, May 11th, from 9-11:00 pm CDT. For a trailer of this special, go to this link.
Clayton Anderson is a great Nebraskan, and even more than that, he's a great American. "Ordinary Spaceman" will make an ideal gift for that special someone in your life.
If your company or organization would like to have him speak at one of your events, you can go to MidAmerica Speakers Bureau.
Tell 'em Husker Dan sent you.
You may contact the writer at HuskerDan@cox.net.
So why in the world am I writing about him?
Well, okay, let me explain something. The man I'm talking about wasn't really rude or even impolite. In fact, he had no idea who I was. It's true, he did "pass by" my house without waving, but cut him some slack. Back in 2010 when he went by my house, the man I'm referring to was flying at an elevation of 249 miles and orbiting the earth at an astonishing speed of about 17,150 miles an hour. And he was serving as part of the crew on the ISS (International Space Station).
(To give you an idea how fast 17,000 mph is, if you were to fire a rifle from one end of Memorial Stadium, the ISS would reach the other end zone before the bullet reached its own 10 yard line. Thanks to Whatif.com.)
ONE OF OURS
So who is this guy? His name is Clayton C. Anderson. (The "C" in his middle name should stand for "Cornhusker", but I'll get to that in a minute.) And if you don't know who Clayton is, he's Nebraska's very own astronaut -- as in NASA astronaut. He grew up in Ashland, Nebraska, graduating from Ashland/Greenwood High (no pun intended) in 1977. He then attended Hastings College in Nebraska where he graduated cum laude with a B.S. in Physics. And in 1983. he received a Masters of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering from Iowa State University.
He's written a very compelling book called "The Ordinary Spaceman."
THE WRITE STUFF
With Fathers Day coming up, what an ideal book to give (or to get), "The Ordinary Spaceman" is written by the author himself (some space books use ghost writers).
"Spaceman" is about a local boy (Ashland is about halfway between Omaha and Lincoln) who grew up dreaming of becoming an astronaut. What are the odds of being accepted into astronaut training?
OF ALL THE GIN JOINTS...
Let's see, there are 7.4 billion people on the planet and only 541 have ever been astronauts. His odds of winning the lottery would have been much better.
And for the record, Anderson was turned down 14 times before being accepted into the astronaut program -- that's 14 years of rejection slips. But on his 15th try, he hit the mother lode.
Clayton writes: "In 1998 more than twenty-six hundred applications were received in Houston's NASA Astronaut Selection Office. One of those was my fifteenth attempt. Of that number, 465 of us were deemed 'exceptionally well qualified.' NASA would then pare the number down to 120 hopefuls. These 120 wannabes were broken into six groups of twenty by the selection committee."
Each group underwent a thorough set of mental and physical tests. Of the original 2.600 applicants, only 25 were accepted -- that's less than one percent.
TEARS TO CHEERS
And even before he flew in space, Clayton served as an escort for the families of the space shuttle Columbia. And when the shuttle disintegrated upon re-entry on February 1, 2003, he was there with the grieving families. He heard one of the little girls whose father was killed in the tragedy ask, "Mommy, who's going to walk me down the aisle?" Wow.
And "Spaceman" also has some knee-slapping moments like when he talks about going potty in space for the first time. (Think Larry The Cable Guy.)
Clayton's story is one of perseverance, dedication, resolve and an overwhelming desire to succeed. And once he was accepted into astronaut training, the real work began. The training took him to such places as Russia. That's where, in the dead of winter, he joined a group of Russian astronaut trainees in a sweltering enclosed outdoor sauna. And after they had been sweating for a while, the entire group took an ice-cold plunge half-naked into a frigid lake.
AN EYE FOR FOOD
And there was the time he and his fellow wannabe astronauts attended a survival training course in the bitter Wyoming winter. It was there the group had to hunt for food. One of them killed a rabbit. It was skinned for the fur and food. And (why, I don't know) Clayton volunteered to eat one of the little bunny's eyeballs! Ewww!
Still want to be an astronaut? Or, how about the agony he suffered getting fitted for a Russian space suit? Or when he had to wear a diaper on launch day. Or how his body had to adjust to the effects of gravity, after spending over 150 days in the weightlessness of space.
And there were extensive underwater training stints at the Neutral Buoyancy Lab near the Johnson Space Center in Houston. The NBL in Houston is the world's largest indoor pool (6.2 million gallons of water).
And as you follow him through his adventures to Russia, the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the Johnson Space Center in Houston and the wilderness of Wyoming, Clayton never loses touch of his Nebraska roots. He grew up playing sports with his buddies and idolizing all the superheroes of the time: Batman, Superman, Spider Man, Wonder Woman. (Okay, I'm making up the Wonder Woman part.) And of course, he idolized Husker football greats like Jerry Tagge, Dave Humm, Johnny Rodgers and Jeff Kinney.
"C" IS FOR CORNHUSKER
Clayton told me that the first Husker football game he ever saw in person was Nebraska at Kansas in 1972 (Clayton was about 13 at the time.)
"We destroyed them that day. Johnny Rodgers ran wild and I think we beat 'em something like 56-0. I rode to the game from Ashland to Lawrence, Kansas, with my dad (John) and my brother (Kirby). I think we came back the same day."
Included in his book is a great photograph taken from space of Memorial Stadium on game day, October 20th, 2007, when the Texas A&M Aggies downed the Huskers, 36-14.
MORE REJECTION
Getting his book published was almost as daunting as his path to becoming an astronaut.
"I was turned down by 100 publishers before being accepted by the University of Nebraska Press." And the book's title changed a few times before being published. Clayton's late father's suggested the book be titled "Taking Up Space." The title went through several iterations before settling on "The Ordinary Spaceman."
THE ANSWERS, PLEASE
When you read "Spaceman" you'll know the answers to such things as:
1.) Why 15 is Clayton's lucky number.
2.) Why the word "bobs" made the Russian astronauts laugh so hard.
3.) What the significance of the butterfly incident was.
4.) Who George and Slice are.
5.) What is meant by "They had influence."
6.) What does space smell like?
7.) What it's like to walk in space.
If you're looking for a story only engineers and techno nerds can understand, this ain't your book. Clayton writes "Spaceman" as though he's talking directly to you and me.
THE NET SPECIAL
If you live in or near Nebraska, you can catch a special NET production about Clayton called "The Homemade Astronaut" which will air Wednesday, May 11th, from 9-11:00 pm CDT. For a trailer of this special, go to this link.
Clayton Anderson is a great Nebraskan, and even more than that, he's a great American. "Ordinary Spaceman" will make an ideal gift for that special someone in your life.
If your company or organization would like to have him speak at one of your events, you can go to MidAmerica Speakers Bureau.
Tell 'em Husker Dan sent you.
You may contact the writer at HuskerDan@cox.net.
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