Celebrity cause
Former Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield uses his high profile to share and inspire
Chris Hadfield can draw a crowd.
Parents grinning ear-toear led their children in a long procession Tuesday morning in Charlottetown to have the former Canadian astronaut sign autographs and pose for photos.
A couple of hours later, Hadfield gave an inspiring talk to about 1,000 people who paid to hear him speak at the Confederation Centre of the Arts.
Hadfield regularly commanded attention from space last year, becoming the first Canadian commander of the International Space Station.
He constantly beamed into schools and other venues on Earth during his fivemonth stay in space, giving educational chats with an entertaining flair that earned him rock star status and millions and millions of views on YouTube.
Since returning to his home planet, Hadfield has remained very much in the public eye.
His 2013 memoir An Astronaut’s Guide To Life on Earth, has been translated into 14 different languages. The book is being adapted into a sitcom by Warner Bros.
Hadfield took to the stage earlier this month with the Windsor Symphony Orchestra to perform the first concert of music written in space.
He has also just launched You are Here: Around the World in 92 minutes — a new book full of almost 200 never-before-seen photos of the Earth, all taken during his mission aboard the ISS.
Yet Hadfield tells The Guardian he has never been about running for the spotlight. His celebrity is simply a byproduct, not a goal, of
sharing personal knowledge and experiences that are nothing short of captivating.
“I am not seeking the exposure side,’’ he says. “It’s celebrity but for me it’s being celebrated for the right reasons.’’
Hadfield’s presentation at the Confederation Centre focused on the journey of a young boy setting out and achieving a lifelong dream to rocket into space.
“It is so beautiful to go around the world 16 times a day,’’ he says with a genuine awe that belies the number of times he has most likely made the observation to one large group or another.
“Floating is fun. You would love it.’’
Hadfield notes he is not driven by adrenaline. He is not a thrill seeker, though many on this planet would be hard pressed to come up with something more exciting to do than to travel into space.
“I think there is kind of a misrepresentation of fighter pilots and test pilots and astronauts as being some sort of adrenaline-fuelled cowboys,’’ he says.
“We are opposite of that. We are risk averse. I don’t know of any test pilot who is a bungee jumper — not one.’’
So getting up in front of the public, whether to play his guitar or to speak about space looks like a comfortable walk in the park for a man that has spent years training to prepare for any number of potential deadly mishaps.
What, he asks, is the worse thing that can happen?
“I get up on stage and talk,’’ he says.
“Nobody is going to burst into flames or crash into the ground.’’