Diary of an Apprentice Astronaut
Astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti’s intimate account of her first journey to the International Space Station, to which she returns in 2022, as commander of Expedition 68a—only the fourth woman to command the ISS, praised by Scott Kelly for its “incredible detail and great writing.”

Two hundred days orbiting Earth on the International Space Station. Five years working and training with the aerospace community across the world. A lifetime of choices leading to the stars. These are the components of Samantha Cristoforetti’s dream, a dream she invites us to share in this intimate account of an astronaut’s journey to space. She views the triumphs and disappointments of that journey with a poet’s eye and a philosopher’s mind—and an engineer’s gift for detail that brings each experience into sharp focus.

With Cristoforetti as our guide, we’re called to become “apprentice astronauts” and experience the world anew through the visor of a space suit’s helmet. Bonding with crew members to tackle challenges as a team, lifting off from the launchpad in a roar of engines, discovering the strange wonders of weightlessness, seeing Earth with a fresh perspective after a bittersweet return to solid ground . . . all these moments and more reveal what it really takes to escape our planet’s gravity in pursuit of a goal.
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Diary of an Apprentice Astronaut
Astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti’s intimate account of her first journey to the International Space Station, to which she returns in 2022, as commander of Expedition 68a—only the fourth woman to command the ISS, praised by Scott Kelly for its “incredible detail and great writing.”

Two hundred days orbiting Earth on the International Space Station. Five years working and training with the aerospace community across the world. A lifetime of choices leading to the stars. These are the components of Samantha Cristoforetti’s dream, a dream she invites us to share in this intimate account of an astronaut’s journey to space. She views the triumphs and disappointments of that journey with a poet’s eye and a philosopher’s mind—and an engineer’s gift for detail that brings each experience into sharp focus.

With Cristoforetti as our guide, we’re called to become “apprentice astronauts” and experience the world anew through the visor of a space suit’s helmet. Bonding with crew members to tackle challenges as a team, lifting off from the launchpad in a roar of engines, discovering the strange wonders of weightlessness, seeing Earth with a fresh perspective after a bittersweet return to solid ground . . . all these moments and more reveal what it really takes to escape our planet’s gravity in pursuit of a goal.
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Diary of an Apprentice Astronaut

Diary of an Apprentice Astronaut

by Samantha Cristoforetti
Diary of an Apprentice Astronaut

Diary of an Apprentice Astronaut

by Samantha Cristoforetti

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Overview

Astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti’s intimate account of her first journey to the International Space Station, to which she returns in 2022, as commander of Expedition 68a—only the fourth woman to command the ISS, praised by Scott Kelly for its “incredible detail and great writing.”

Two hundred days orbiting Earth on the International Space Station. Five years working and training with the aerospace community across the world. A lifetime of choices leading to the stars. These are the components of Samantha Cristoforetti’s dream, a dream she invites us to share in this intimate account of an astronaut’s journey to space. She views the triumphs and disappointments of that journey with a poet’s eye and a philosopher’s mind—and an engineer’s gift for detail that brings each experience into sharp focus.

With Cristoforetti as our guide, we’re called to become “apprentice astronauts” and experience the world anew through the visor of a space suit’s helmet. Bonding with crew members to tackle challenges as a team, lifting off from the launchpad in a roar of engines, discovering the strange wonders of weightlessness, seeing Earth with a fresh perspective after a bittersweet return to solid ground . . . all these moments and more reveal what it really takes to escape our planet’s gravity in pursuit of a goal.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781615198429
Publisher: The Experiment, LLC
Publication date: 08/31/2021
Pages: 400
Sales rank: 619,511
Product dimensions: 5.50(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Samantha Cristoforetti is an Italian European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut, engineer, and former Italian Air Force pilot. She spent 200 days on the International Space Station (ISS) as part of Expedition 42/43. In March 2021, ESA announced that Cristoforetti will com- mand ISS Expedition 68a when she returns in spring 2022. She was also the commander of NASA’s NEEMO 23 underwater research and exploration mission in 2019.

Read an Excerpt

'The sun is setting, signalling the end of my first orbital day. I catch a glimpse of the Milky Way; I recognize Cassiopeia. There is something so poignant about contemplating it from up here, from inside this metal box, this not particularly cutting-edge bundle of technology that allows us to be here where no human being should ever be.'

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

1 Soyuz TMA-15M, June 11, 2015 5

2 Istrana Air Base, Treviso, May 18, 2009 7

3 Kennedy Space Center, Florida, February 8, 2010 25

4 Bordeaux, May 7, 2010 34

5 Star City, September 12, 2010 41

6 Star City, June 6, 2011 53

7 Star City, July 18, 2011 57

8 Houston, September 27, 2011 63

9 Star City, January 18, 2012 79

10 Houston, March 5, 2012 89

11 Montreal, May 13, 2012 98

12 Houston, August 29, 2012 103

13 Moscow, October 19, 2012 109

14 Star City, April 11, 2013 115

15 Noginsky, June 28, 2013 122

16 Star City, July 24, 2013 129

17 Moscow, October 1, 2013 138

18 Houston, November 5, 2013 147

19 Star City, December 12, 2013 155

20 Moscow, April 10, 2014 161

21 Star City, April 11, 2014 167

22 Korolev, April 21, 2014 172

23 Star City, May 15, 2014 185

24 Houston, July 2, 2014 197

25 Flight from Frankfurt to Moscow, October 8, 2014 207

26 Baikonur, November 23, 2014 217

27 Baikonur Cosmodrome, November 24, 2014 229

28 Soyuz TMA-15M, November 24, 2014 237

29 International Space Station, November 24, 2014 247

30 International Space Station, November 24, 2014 256

31 International Space Station, December 2, 2014 268

32 International Space Station, December 31, 2014 281

33 International Space Station, January 14, 2015 292

34 International Space Station, January 17, 2015 299

35 International Space Station, February 10, 2015 310

36 International Space Station, March 11, 2015 317

37 International Space Station, April 17, 2015 326

38 International Space Station, April 28, 2015 338

39 International Space Station, June 9, 2015 346

40 International Space Station, June 11, 2015 351

41 Soyuz TMA-15M, June 11, 2015 358

42 Namibia, November 2015 366

Acknowledgments 371

Glossary 374

Interview with the Author 382

Reader's Guide 387

About the Author 390

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