Journalist, Author & Syndicated Columnist
Becoming an astronaut was a no-brainer for Kellie Gerardi, who was born in Jupiter … Florida, that is. “I’ve always been fascinated with space, but I definitely think growing up in Jupiter with a view of the Space Coast gave me invaluable exposure to human spaceflight,” said Gerardi. “I quite literally had front-row seats to the final frontier, so it didn’t seem quite so far out of reach.”
Former NASA astronaut Scott Parazynski is a physician, inventor and once ranked among the top 10 American luge competitors during the 1988 Olympics Trials. He may now add author to his impressive resume, thanks to his memoir, “The Sky Below: A True Story of Summits, Space, and Speed” (Little A, $24.95).
Before retiring, Mark C. Lee flew on four NASA space flights, traveled more than 13 million miles, circled the globe 517 times and did an untethered spacewalk. In 1992, he and his then-wife, Nancy Jan Davis, made history by becoming the first married astronauts to fly together in space.
One of my most popular columns was on Commander Chris Hadfield. You know — the Canadian astronaut who sang “Space Oddity.” In space! He has a book out called “An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth” and I’ve teamed up with his publisher (Little, Brown & Co.) to give away two books. I’ve read it, and I enjoyed it very much. I think you will, too. #WinWithJae
Last year, when my son was 4 years old, he said he wanted to become an astronaut when he grew up. I was almost dancing with joy when he said that, because, well… he wanted to become an ASTRONAUT!