posted 01-05-2016 12:12 AM               

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to find yourself strapped to a giant rocket that's about to go from zero to 17,500 miles per hour? Or to look back on the earth from outer space and see the surprisingly precise line between day and night? Or to stand in front of the Hubble telescope, wondering if the emergency repair you're about to make will inadvertently ruin humankind's chance to unlock the universe's secrets? Mike Massimino has been there, and in Spaceman he puts you inside the suit, with all the zip and buoyancy of life in microgravity.

Massimino's childhood space dreams were born the day Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon, but his journey to realizing those dreams was as unlikely as it is captivating. Growing up in a working-class Long Island family, Massimino catapulted himself to Columbia and then MIT, only to flunk his qualifying exams and be rejected twice by NASA before making it to the final round of astronaut selection — where he was told his poor eyesight meant he'd never make the cut. But even that couldn't stop him from finally earning his wings, making the jump to training in T-38 Air Force jets and preparing his body — and soul — for the journey to the cosmos.

Taking us through the surreal wonder and beauty of his first spacewalk, the tragedy of losing friends in the Columbia shuttle accident, and the development of his enduring love for the Hubble telescope — which he'd be tasked with saving on his final mission — Massimino has written an ode to never giving up and the power of teamwork to make anything possible. Spaceman invites us into a rare, wonderful world where the nerdiest science meets the most thrilling adventure, and pulls back a curtain on just what having "the right stuff" really means.

• Hardcover: 336 pages
  
• Crown Archetype (October 4, 2016)
  
• ISBN-10: 1101903546
  
• ISBN-13: 978-1101903544

posted 05-13-2016 05:46 AM               

My book Spaceman is out this October! Check out the cover in my video and preorder it here.

posted 06-05-2016 07:51 AM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Hart Sastrowardoyo:
I'm also wondering why he has the Mach 25, not the Mach 26...

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posted 07-19-2016 02:41 PM               

The great people over at @goodreads are running a giveaway of #Spaceman galleys until tomorrow, enter here.

posted 07-29-2016 05:08 PM               

The great people over at @goodreads are running a giveaway of #Spaceman galleys until tomorrow.

posted 08-16-2016 02:14 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by garymilgrom:
That cover design (grey hair on grey background) is a poor reflection of all the wondrous things and sights Massimino has done and seen in his career.

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posted 08-17-2016 03:53 AM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Robert Pearlman:
Are you sure you are not looking at the international cover?

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posted 10-02-2016 09:10 PM               

Mike's book is being published on Tuesday [Oct. 4]!

• Tuesday: you can see Mike on "Good Day New York" at 9:20 a.m. [EDT] or Facebook Live at Space.com at 3:00 p.m.

• Wednesday: you can see Mike on Fox News' "America's Newsroom" at 10:50 a.m., hear him on "The Leonard Lopate Show" at noon, or see him on Facebook Live at PC Magazine's Extreme Tech at geek.com.

• Thursday: you can see Mike on CNBC-TV's "Squawk Box."

• Friday: you can hear Mike live on National Public Radio's "Science Friday" at 2:20 p.m. and watch him on CNN International's "Erin Burnett Outfront."

posted 10-04-2016 12:00 AM               

Astronaut Mike Massimino's new mission: Launching his book 'Spaceman'

On Tuesday (Oct. 4), Mike Massimino is launching his first book "Spaceman: An Astronaut's Unlikely Journey to Unlock the Secrets of the Universe" (Crown Archetype).

"This is kind of like another mission," Massimino explained in an interview with collectSPACE, "trying to come out with a really good space book, a really good memoir, that can show people what it is like not giving up and pursuing your dream, how gratifying it is to have a sense of purpose and being a service to others and just how cool space is."

posted 10-04-2016 04:23 AM               

Going into the book, I thought most of the stories would be familiar. I covered both of his spaceflights and have interviewed him on multiple occasions over the years. But there were a number of new-to-me revelations about his motivation to become an astronaut, his selection and his time within the corps to keep me engaged.

His voice and sense of humor come across, as does his passion for spaceflight. There were several times while reading where I couldn't help but draw parallels between his story and those who make up this community.

posted 11-22-2016 04:42 PM               

A dream come true. Thank you to everyone who made "Spaceman" a New York Times Bestseller!

posted 09-04-2017 08:21 AM               

My book coming out in paperback feels like my second space launch — I know what to expect which makes it almost more exciting.

posted 02-17-2019 02:06 PM               

I'm so excited to be working on the young reader adaptation of "Spaceman"! Due to be published spring next year.

posted 04-06-2020 02:20 PM               

I have a new book coming out tomorrow, Tuesday, April 7. It is titled "Spaceman: The True Story of a Young Boy's Journey to Becoming an Astronaut" and is a young reader adaptation of my original "Spaceman" book. I hope this version, with stories especially for younger readers, is a bit of inspiration (or distraction) during this tough time.

Since publishing my first book, I have had the opportunity to speak to a variety of audiences about my journey. A question I often get from younger readers is: "What kept you going after NASA rejected you three times?" From the outset, my dream of becoming an astronaut seemed impossible. But I did not believe that was true — it was not impossible; it was just highly unlikely.

Looking at it mathematically, the chances of my making it to space were maybe one out of a million or 0.000001. That, however, is a non-zero number, and a non-zero number by definition is possible. The only way that the one at the end of all of those zeroes becomes a zero is if you give up. So when asked, I encourage young people (and adults) to not give up on their dreams, however impossible they may seem.

Those conversations I have had with young readers about Spaceman inspired me to re-write my book to speak more to them. I wanted to greater emphasize the experiences from my younger years that formed my view on life and led me to the astronaut program.

I hope this new book inspires young people to not give up on what they love. If realizing a little kid dream can happen to me, it can happen to others, too.

• Age Range: 9-12 years
  
• Grade Level: 4-7
  
• Hardcover: 288 pages
  
• Delacorte Books for Young Readers (April 7, 2020)
  
• ISBN-10: 0593120868
  
• ISBN-13: 978-0593120866