VIA VIEW: Mike Massimino "Spaceman"
A book about Space exploration is a quick way to get my attention. I love everything to do with this subject. The adventure, the achievement, the humanity… and Mike Massimino’s autobiography delivered it all.
Since becoming a Leadership Tutor, I can’t read a book like this without finding links to personal development. There are so many inspiring moments that we can learn from, but without having to voyage beyond our own planet! Here’s what captivated me when reading this incredible memoir of an extraordinary astronaut’s career.
It may be no surprise that Massimino’s story begins with the tale of a childhood dream inspired by… you’ve guessed it… the Moon landing. It was such a momentous achievement, captivating the whole world and inspiring a new generation to go further than the generation before. But for the 650 million viewers who saw Neil Armstrong take his first steps on the moon’s surface only a very small percentage would see their dream turned into reality. I had mostly assumed that people who see their childhood dreams come true had pursued them relentlessly. Plotting out their career step by step. They were determined, yes, but they had a clearly laid out plan that they followed. Well, that’s not what Massimino did. He worked for IBM doing something millions of people do every day and commuting to the city to work in a role, that he was good at, but lacked real life purpose. Even on his journey to NASA he expected to design equipment for space rather than be the one to go himself! Given the breaks in the Shuttle programme and the tragedy of the Challenger explosion the dream of becoming an astronaut might have felt impossible, but by making key decisions to pursue his passion, Massimino eventually was in the right place to pursue the dream itself.
There’s another reason many would have given up on their dream and that’s physical hurdles. Often in life these feel connected to things like geography and money, but in Massimino’s case his eyes were not physically fit for space travel. NASA don’t send astronauts to Space with poor eyesight, and neither do they send glasses and contacts to rectify the situation. So, when Massimino took his eye exam as part of the routine medical checks he was disqualified. He had been wearing contacts designed to correct his vision and this was not allowed. Honestly at this stage I’d have given up in his shoes. He’d battled through educationally to pass his exams, but passing an eye exam is totally different right? Well actually …no. Massimino found a potential solution to the problem with a vision training programme. For 7 months he persevered with exercises of concentration and relaxation designed to improve his vision. He would work until his eyes were bloodshot, but…. He did it. He improved his eyesight enough to pass the exam and be approved for Astronaut work. If becoming an astronaut was the impossible dream, I have no words for what he achieved here!
In my own role I have moments where I feel the pressure. I get anxious, or over-think situations. And let’s be frank I work in an office…. Nothing ever goes badly wrong. So, when I think about the challenges of Space travel, I am astounded by the ability to work under pressure in such extreme situations. If like me, you double check your work to make sure there’s no errors imagine the approach to a space walk where a suit failure is a disaster. Actions taken by human beings put other human beings’ lives at risk. And once you’ve accepted that risk then there’s the financial pressure. Massimino estimates that every hour he spent in Space was $650,000 worth of funding. Not to mention the fact that with limited mission crew you have been selected at the expense of someone else. I can’t imagine pressure like it. The confidence in training, the ability to keep calm and communicate shine through in Massimino’s approach. There’s passion throughout his work but the approach to risk management and team building normalises the experience and made me admire all those who work at NASA!
The defining moment in Massimino’s book is a classic tale of overcoming adversity. Sent to repair the Hubble, he was tasked with an engineering feat that makes Mission Impossible look simple. 111 small screws held a panel of the Hubble together. Never expected to be repaired in Space, they weren’t designed to be removed easily, and certainly not by someone manoeuvring tools in a Space Suit! This challenge is worth hearing in Massimino’s own words. The complexity of removing this panel and the solutions devised are an incredible feat. But in reality…. It was the simplest of tasks that went wrong. Not the 111-screw panel but the removal of a basic handrail seemed destined to halt the repair forever when a bolt wouldn’t budge. Various tools and a Mission Control taskforce couldn’t see a way around the issue until it was decided that with all the intelligence of the NASA workforce the solution was simple… brute force. So, in Space, tasked with a delicate mission Massimino yanks the handrail and the crisis is over. I love this story. I love it for its human factor. Much like when Armstrong took manual control over the Moon Landing it’s a reminder of the need for humans to work alongside Science. For all the incredible steps we have taken in science, sometimes it’s the simplest solutions that work!
And the human factor undoubtedly shines through in Massimino’s memoir. He talks of the final words to his friends on Columbia, blissfully unaware that their upcoming re-entry would be fatal for the whole crew. With incredible vulnerability he shares his emotions in a tragedy both for the space programme and for him personally. The space crew are an extended family to him, as shown by their support during his Father’s ill health. He speaks with real pride for his Dad’s role in the Fire service and how it encouraged him to wear a FDNY cap in space to honour him and the firefighters lost in 9/11. This isn’t a book about the work of an astronaut, this is about being an astronaut. And it’s a book about how an astronaut is also a husband and a father too. We all have elements of the career and personal life, and how the two co-exist was a surprising learning for me as I learned more about Massimino’s life.
Massimino’s story may be an extraordinary one, but the lessons learnt can apply to us all and inspire us to reach further than we dream.
