Mike Massimino

Massimino and his fellow astronauts spent hours in simulators practicing how they would work and communicate with their support team in the Mission Control Center (MCC) while literally a world apart. He also spent years as a Capcom (Spacecraft Communicator) in MCC communicating with and supporting astronauts in space. Critical problems arose during Mike’s final spacewalk on the Hubble Space Telescope, and even though support team members were at various locations on Earth, they were able to save the day for Mike in space. Although we are now physically separated from each other today due to COVID-19, we can strive to be the person that people can call for help. Reach out and try to be someone else’s Mission Control Center.

Massimino’s NASA training taught him valuable lessons on how to thrive in isolation. Some tips are: try to embrace the situation; concentrate on meaningful work; keep open the lines of communication between friends, family and co-workers; be respectful of the well-being of your crewmates; keep up your self-care and exercise; enjoy the beauty of our planet; and use time away from the hustle and bustle of our normal daily routines to think introspectively about our lives.

Massimino’s first spaceflight was on Space Shuttle Columbia. On Columbia’s next voyage, the crew and the space shuttle were lost during re-entry. It was devastating to lose seven of his friends in an instant. While grieving and consoling the families of those fallen heroes, another reality set in: what would happen to the future of the space program? The International Space Station was not yet completed and the Hubble Space Telescope needed repair. Massimino and his colleagues would not let the loss of their friends be in vain. Innovative procedures, tools, and techniques were developed to get the shuttle flying again to finish that important work. Massimino shares stories of how that same effort and attitude is needed now to recover from the effects of COVID-19 on our businesses and lives.

Massimino's second space flight was one of the last of the Space Shuttle Program. It was time for NASA to retire the shuttle and move on to the next phase in space exploration. That next phase included flying exclusively on the Russian Soyuz for a few years, and working with commercial companies to provide launch services in the future. Many at NASA did not want to accept these changes. But the last few years have shown that those who accepted these changes have thrived, while those who resisted are no longer contributing. We may not like the new world we are now living in that has forced us to change the way we do business. But by accepting change and knowing that change can provide unseen opportunities, we can still shoot for the stars.

With the recent SpaceX launch of NASA astronauts to the International Space Station, a second golden age of space exploration has begun. In the future we can expect to see more entrepreneurial companies, such as Elon Musk’s SpaceX, Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin, and Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic, exploring space not only for scientific benefit but also for profit. We are transitioning from over 50 years of human space flight programs conducted exclusively by governments, to programs that provide new opportunities for private enterprise. It is similar to air travel a century ago when airplanes were used primarily for government and military purposes, and for barnstorming. Those early years led to today’s commercial airline industry. Just imagine what the recent accomplishments can lead to in the near future: space tourism, utilization of space resources, and science and technological developments to benefit life on Earth.

Mike Massimino knows what makes for a strong crew, and his dedication to being the best possible leader for his team led to them setting a record for the longest consecutive spacewalk, a record which still stands today. In this speech he lays out his personal and inimitable philosophy on creating and leading a strong team capable of facing challenges with innovation, creativity, and enthusiasm.

How do you take out over one hundred small screws from a machine that wasn’t designed to be taken apart? How do you do it with the knowledge that any mistake might compromise the ability to discover life on other planets? And how do you do it in space? Using his own experience on the crews that repaired the Hubble Telescope as an example, Massimino not only teaches audiences how his team’s persistence and creativity saved one of mankind’s most important pieces of technology, but also how innovation and determination are skills that everyone has and anyone can hone.

In this entertaining talk, Massimino chronicles his journey from a six-foot-three Long Island kid who was afraid of heights to a two-time veteran of NASA space flights. With humor, humility, and intelligence, Massimino takes us through his childhood obsession with space, his reconnection with his astronaut ambitions thanks to the movie The Right Stuff, and his multiple attempts to gain admission to NASA. His determination leads to a successful career as an astronaut, and a dramatic, moving, and humbling new understanding of the importance of teammates, family, and fellowship.