Astronaut Chris Hadfield tells Katherine MacAlister about his latest mission to bring the galaxy to a theatre near you

My interview with Chris Hadfield was coordinated for 0800 on Monday by his logistics co-ordinator – he had asked for a 7.05am interview slot, but while I’m keen, I’m not that keen.

And while I was rubbing my eyes as we spoke, he was as sharp and focused as ever. Welcome to the efficient, non-stop, regimented, disciplined, relentless, driven world of Col Chris Hadfield, whom, having retired as the world’s most famous astronaut, has not taken his foot off the pedal since.

He may no longer be vying to be in space, but instead has taken it upon himself to teach the world about the galaxy, with the vigour of an evangelical preacher, through his books and inspirational talks.

Feted wherever he goes, thanks largely to a YouTube video of him singing David Bowie’s Space Oddity aboard the International Space Station which went viral, Chris as much as anyone was devastated by news of Bowie’s death: “Ashes to ashes, dust to stardust. Your brilliance inspired us all. Goodbye Starman,” he wrote on his Twitter account.

Back in Oxford on Monday for An Evening With at the New Theatre, Chris has been promoted since his book signing at Blackwells.

Having already conducted his one-man tour across the globe, including Canada where he hails from, the astronaut is still amazed by the reception he encounters: “The reaction is startling. I remember thinking before my first show in Ottawa which sold out: ‘I’m not dancing or singing or anything, why have they come to see me? And then I realised that people want to know about the world and their part of it, to have an insight into who we are and where we are going. Seeing that something so far away is obtainable is reassuring and life affirming.”

How does he feel about enlightening them? “It’s a delightful and daunting task. But to me it’s natural. I have always been curious and happy to share what I have seen and learned. The experience of being human is global now.”

So what does he get asked the most during the talks Q&A session? “How I go to the toilet in space. Every time,” he says smiling.

Hoping to impart more than that when he visits Oxford, Chris says the new show is fun. “I’ve been speaking about space for 25 years now in schools and college halls, and the impetus for all my books and this show were the reactions I came across, a real thirst for knowledge.”

It’s always been that way to Chris: “ My father was an airline pilot and then I went travelling round Europe by train and hitchhiking when I was 17. It’s important to see the world you live in. It makes you feel protective.”

Chris’s three space missions were obviously the pinnacle of his impressive career, although he says in exasperation: “When people find out I’m an astronaut they often ask ‘so what do you do when you’re not flying in space?’ as if we sit around in a waiting room between lift-offs.”

To answer their question, he was CAPCOM for 25 Shuttle launches; served as Director of NASA Operations in Star City, Russia, from 2001 to 2003; Chief of Robotics for the NASA Astronaut Office in Houston from 2003 to 2006; and Chief of International Space Station Operations from 2006 to 2008, most recently serving as Commander of the International Space Station.

He describes his first ascent into space in 1995 as feeling “like magic, like winning, like a dream. I feel like a sorcerer, like I’m the luckiest person alive. I am in space, weightless and getting here only took 8 mins and 42 seconds, give or take several thousand days of training.”

Oxford Mail:

Reinventing himself as a global teacher and speaker seemed to be an easy transformation however, circling the globe from the ground this time around.

Does he mind that we are all living vicariously through him? “We all live vicariously to a degree. Look at Star Wars; vicariousness does not have to be real, you just need a fanciful imagination that grows out of permanence to experience your own mind.”

Is must still be a pale imitation of his former life though? “That is not correct at all. It’s not that I felt worthless or that I was trying to replace the workplace. It’s the opposite – a delight in all of the things I do. Yes I spent 21 years as an astronaut and six months in space, but I’m not jealous at all of people in space. I have been talking to Tim Peake and sharing in his delight. It just makes me smile. This is us, human creativity, keeps pushing our boundaries and I have been part of that. It’s like a present that keeps on wrapping itself.”

He also gets to spend more time with his wife, as she is able to accompany him on his trips this time around. “It’s all going to plan. We are grandparents now, even though the kids are long gone. It’s not an easy life as an astronaut’s wife. I was away for two thirds of the year, so it’s nice now, nice to come together. Where we travel isn’t really that important.”

And after this tour? “We will vacation somewhere, somewhere with warm water, but before then we want to take in Oxford – which is so historical it almost echoes under the weight of its own name.”

SEE IT
An Evening With Chris Hadfield is on Monday at the New Theatre atgtickets.com/oxford 0844 8713020