Terry Virts

A wildly entertaining account of the rules, lessons, procedures, and experiences of space travel, How to Astronaut is a book that will appeal to anyone— male or female, young or old—with even a passing interest in space. Written by Col. Terry Virts, a former astronaut, space shuttle pilot, and International Space Station commander who spent 200 consecutive days in space, it answers all of our curious questions and much more: Here’s how to survive that first brush with weightlessness (in the so-called vomit comet); the nearly indescribable thrill of a first blastoff; managing the daily tasks—eating, bathing, doing chores, going to the bathroom— that are anything but ordinary when you’re orbiting the earth at 17,000 miles per hour; how to don your space suit and head out to work on a spacewalk (“alone in the vacuum”); how to prepare for emergencies of all kinds, from managing “space brain” to dealing with a dead crew member; and what it’s like to return to Earth, including something as seemingly simple as walking after spending six months in zero-g. A born storyteller, Virts reveals the often-untold side of space travel in 51 short chapters filled with a mix of you-are-there detail, a dose of science made simple, and the inherent drama of describing something few will ever know firsthand.

An Insider's Guide to Leaving Planet Earth

How to Astronaut

This majestic National Geographic photography book offers a spectacular view of Earth from outer space, featuring aerial imagery taken from the International Space Station by NASA astronaut Terry Virts. Few people get the experience of seeing the world from outer space-and no one has taken as many pictures of Earth from above as Terry Virts. Celebrated NASA astronaut, pilot of the space shuttle, crew member on Soyuz, and commander of the International Space Station, Virts has spent more than 200 days in space-and very few of those days went by without his reaching for his camera. Now as never before, Virts shares the astronaut's view of the world, offering astounding aerial views of our planet and the vastness that surrounds it. The colors, shapes, details-and the stories they tell-are endlessly fascinating. Virts's book marries his stunning photographs with glimpses of everyday life in orbit. And amid this amazing show of Earth spectacles, he reflects on how the astronaut's point of view has shaped his life and spirit. Filled with magnificent photographs that will astonish and inspire, this book-and its intrepid author-becomes our guide to a new way of looking at the world.

Terry Virts

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