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Tag: chris hadfield

  • William Shatner Honored by NASA for Service

    William Shatner Honored by NASA for Service

    NASA honored iconic actor William Shatner with its highest award bestowed upon civilians Saturday, the Distinguished Public Service medal. Shatner received the citation while attending his own Hollywood Charity Horse Show in Los Angeles, which raises money for children’s causes.

    The medal cited Shatner for “outstanding generosity and dedication to inspiring new generations of explorers around the world, and for unwavering support for NASA and its missions of discovery.”

    Best known for his role as Captain James Tiberius Kirk on Star Trek: The Original Series, Shatner has been somewhat of an informal spokesman for NASA over the past few years, issuing a Star Trek-themed wake-up call to the astronauts of the Discovery mission STS-133 in 2011. In 2012, the actor recorded a message for the occupants of the International Space Station, and also narrated a video regarding NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover:

    David Weaver, NASA’s associate administrator for the Office of Communications at NASA Headquarters in Washington, said in a statement, “William Shatner has been so generous with his time and energy in encouraging students to study science and math, and for inspiring generations of explorers, including many of the astronauts and engineers who are a part of NASA today.” Weaver added, “He’s most deserving of this prestigious award.”

    Shatner, 83, was born on March 22, 1931, in the Côte Saint-Luc neighborhood of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and has shown support for his home country’s space exploration efforts. Last year he traded tweets with astronaut Chris Hadfield, Canada’s first space station commander.

    Shatner’s latest artistic endeavor is a reality show called The Shatner Project, which is set to premiere some time this year, and will be a five-episode series in which the actor and wife Liz will gut their 1970′s-era California home, and remodel it. Commenting on the new series, Shatner states, “I am embracing change. Our home will be unfamiliar territory for a while but I am excited by all of it.”

    Image via NASA

  • Celebrity Space Station Commander at Conference

    Internationally renowned astronaut and social media celebrity, Commander Chris Hadfield will be the featured opening keynote speaker at “Pink14”, the 18th Annual IT Service Management Conference & Exhibition.

    On February 17, 2014 at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, Hadfield is slated to speak before thousands of IT professionals on the topics of Leadership, Teamwork and Collaboration – subjects that resonate with IT professionals of every level and industry.

    “Pink conferences are internationally renowned, which is why IT professionals of every corner of the globe return year after year” stated Fatima Cabral Ratcliffe, Pink Elephant CEO. “Our attendees know that they’ll experience world class keynote speakers, and this could not be truer for Pink14 with the fascinating Commander Hadfield”.

    Called “the most famous astronaut since Neil Armstrong” by the BBC, receiving Twitter messages from William Shatner and Queen Elizabeth, Hadfield leveraged the power of social media to make outer space accessible to millions. Beginning each day with, “Good morning Earth”, Hadfield sent out daily Tweets and photographs from space allowing his followers to see the world differently and infusing a sense of wonder into the collective conscious not felt since man first walked on the moon.

    “Commander Hadfield is a true leader and innovator, who connected with so many people even from space” commented Ratcliffe. “Over the years we’ve been lucky to have a series of such dynamic speakers – as a man of many talents, Commander Hadfield fits the bill perfectly”.

    Hadfield also captivated music and science enthusiasts with his cover of David Bowie’s 1969 “Space Oddity” and performed “ISS (Is Someone Singing)” in unison Canadian group Barenaked Ladies and with young fans around the world. Whether leading a multi-national team on board the International Space Station or sharing how to perform seemingly mundane tasks such as brushing your teeth in zero gravity space, Hadfield’s social media skills have garnered him millions of fans.

  • Chris Hadfield Covers David Bowie’s Space Oddity Aboard the ISS

    Canadian Space Agency astronaut Chris Hadfield has been doing awesome things in space, aboard the International Space Station, for some time now – now he’s on his way back to Earth after a stint as the ISS’ Commander.

    Well, here’s his goodbye. It’s a slightly tweaked version of David Bowie’s “Space Oddity.” Yep, “Space Oddity” performed in space. It just feels right, doesn’t it?

    [via reddit]

  • Canada’s New Space-Themed $5 Bill Unveiled…in Space

    Canada just unveiled their new polymer $5 bank note, and they had a little help from someone that’s out of this world.

    Literally. Well, not its orbit (apologies). Anyway, Canadian Space Agency Astronaut Chris Hadfield, Commander of the International Space Station, was part of the big reveal. For those of you who lost track, yes, Canada did just unveil a new style of currency in space.

    “Canadians can be very proud of their new polymer bank notes,” said Finance Minister Flaherty. “With today’s unveiling of the final two notes in the series, one can see not only the unique story that each of the five denominations tells, but the unifying theme that underlies them all – the profound courage, determination, and ingenuity of our nation and its people.”

    Here’s the Bank of Canada’s rationale for the switch to polymer:

    Almost half a billion of these new notes are now in circulation. Safer, cheaper, greener, the polymer notes have already proven their worth. Safer, because all the notes have the same state-of-the-art security features, using holography, transparency and other elements that make them difficult to counterfeit but easy for everyone, especially those behind the counter, to verify.

    Cheaper, because the durable polymer material lasts at least 2.5 times longer than paper-based notes. This means that fewer notes will need to be printed, making the series more economical. Greener because, over the life of the series, fewer notes produced also means fewer notes transported. And when they do need to be replaced, the notes will be recycled in Canada.

    The new $5 bill features images of Canadarm2 and Dextre – robots used to build and keep the ISS. It also features a portrait of Sir Wilfrid Laurier, Prime Minister of Canada from 1896 to 1911.

    You can watch the currency reveal from space below:

    Canada already has $20, $50, and $100 polymer notes in circulation, and the Bank of Canada says that they are the most secure bank note that they’ve ever issued.

    “I try to inspire young Canadians to aim high. This new $5 bill should do the same,” Commander Hadfield said. “By giving prominence to Canadian achievements in space, this bank note reminds us that not even the sky is the limit.”

  • Astronaut Wrings Out Water Aboard the ISS, Proving That Even Mundane Tasks Are Awesome in Space

    Canadian Space Agency Astronaut Chris Hadfield is awesome, space is awesome, and everything he does in space is awesome. Proving once again that even the most mundane tasks are transformed into something incredible when performed in zero gravity, here’s Hadfield wringing out a soaking-wet washcloth aboard the ISS.

    Not only is the wringing-out part cool, but so is the whole getting-it-wet-in-the-first-place part.

    If this isn’t reason enough to find space programs, I don’t know what is.

  • Watch Astronaut Chris Hadfield Make a Space Sandwich

    Here’s Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield giving us a tour of his space kitchen and showing off his zero-gravity culinary prowess.

    When you’re done with this, make sure you catch his recent reddit AMA. It’s out of this world! (I’ll show myself out).