Chris Hadfield Chris Austin Hadfield ( born 29 August 1959 ) is a retired Canadian astronaut who was the first Canadian to walk in space . A former Royal Canadian Air Force fighter pilot , Hadfield has flown two space shuttle missions and served as commander of the International Space Station . Hadfield , who was raised on a farm in southern Ontario , was inspired as a child when he watched the Apollo moon landing on TV . He attended high school in Oakville and Milton and earned his glider pilot licence as a member of the Royal Canadian Air Cadets . He joined the Canadian Armed Forces and earned an engineering degree at Royal Military College . While in the military he learned to fly various types of aircraft and eventually became a test pilot and flew several experimental planes . As part of an exchange program with the United States Navy and United States Air Force , he obtained a master ' s degree in aviation systems at the University of Tennessee Space Institute . In 1992 , he was accepted into the Canadian astronaut program by the Canadian Space Agency . He first flew in space aboard STS - 74 in November 1995 as a mission specialist . During the mission he visited the Russian space station Mir . In April 2001 he flew again on STS - 100 and visited the International Space Station ( ISS ) , where he walked in space and helped to install the Canadarm2 . In December 2012 he flew for a third time aboard Soyuz TMA - 07M and joined Expedition 34 on the ISS . He was a member of this expedition until March 2013 when he became the commander of the ISS as part of Expedition 35 . He was responsible for a crew of five astronauts and helped to run dozens of scientific experiments dealing with the impact of low gravity on human biology . During the mission he also gained popularity by chronicling life aboard the space station and taking pictures of the earth and posting them through Twitter and Facebook to a large following of people around the world . He was a guest on television news and talk shows and gained popularity by playing his guitar in space . His mission ended in May 2013 when he returned to earth . Shortly after returning , he announced his retirement , capping a 35 - year career as a military pilot and an astronaut . Personal life . Hadfield was born in Sarnia , Ontario . His parents are Roger and Eleanor Hadfield , who live in Milton , Ontario . Hadfield was raised on a corn farm in southern Ontario and became interested in flying at a young age and in being an astronaut at age nine when he saw the Apollo 11 moon landing on television . He is married to his high - school girlfriend Helene , and they have three adult children . Hadfield used to be a ski instructor at Glen Eden Ski Area before becoming a test pilot . Education and military career . Hadfield attended White Oaks Secondary School in Oakville , Ontario until his senior year and then graduated as an Ontario Scholar from Milton District High School in 1977 . As a member of the Royal Canadian Air Cadets , he earned a glider pilot scholarship at age 15 and a powered pilot scholarship at age 16 . After graduating from high school in 1978 , he joined the Canadian Armed Forces and spent two years at Royal Roads Military College followed by two years at the Royal Military College , where he received a bachelor ' s degree in mechanical engineering in 1982 . Before graduating , he also underwent basic flight training at CFB Portage la Prairie . In 1983 , he took honours as the top graduate from Basic Jet Training at CFB Moose Jaw , and then went on to train as a tactical fighter pilot with 410 Tactical Fighter Operational Training Squadron at CFB Cold Lake , flying the Canadair CF - 116 Freedom Fighter and the McDonnell Douglas CF - 18 Hornet . After completing his fighter training , Hadfield flew CF - 18 Hornets with 425 Tactical Fighter Squadron , flying intercept missions for NORAD . He was the first CF - 18 pilot to intercept a Soviet Tupolev Tu 95 long - range bomber in the Canadian Arctic . In the late 1980s , Hadfield attended the U . S . Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base and served as an exchange officer with the U . S . Navy at Strike Test Directorate at the Patuxent River Naval Air Station . His accomplishments from 1989 to 1992 included testing the McDonnell Douglas F / A - 18 Hornet and LTV A - 7 Corsair II aircraft ; performing research work with NASA on pitch control margin simulation and flight ; completing the first military flight of F / A - 18 enhanced performance engines ; piloting the first flight test of the National Aerospace Plane external burning hydrogen propulsion engine ; developing a new handling qualities rating scale for high angle - of - attack test ; and participating in the F / A - 18 out - of - control recovery test program . In May 1992 , Hadfield graduated with a master ' s degree in aviation systems from the University of Tennessee Space Institute , where his thesis concerned high - angle attack aerodynamics of the F / A - 18 Hornet fighter jet . In total , Hadfield has flown over 70 different types of aircraft . NASA experience . Hadfield was selected to become one of four new Canadian astronauts from a field of 5 , 330 applicants in June 1992 . Three of those four ( Dafydd Williams , Julie Payette and Hadfield ) have flown in space . He was assigned by the Canadian Space Agency ( CSA ) to the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston , Texas in August , where he addressed technical and safety issues for Shuttle Operations Development , contributed to the development of the glass shuttle cockpit , and supported shuttle launches at the Kennedy Space Center , in Florida . In addition , Hadfield was NASA ' s Chief CAPCOM , the voice of mission control to astronauts in orbit , for 25 space shuttle missions . From 1996 to 2000 , he represented CSA astronauts and coordinated their activities as the Chief Astronaut for the CSA . He was the Director of Operations for NASA at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonauts Training Center ( GCTC ) in Star City , Russia from 2001 until 2003 . Some of his duties included coordination and direction of all International Space Station crew activities in Russia , oversight of training and crew support staff , as well as policy negotiation with the Russian Space Program and other International Partners . He also trained and became fully qualified to be a flight engineer cosmonaut in the Soyuz TMA spacecraft , and to perform spacewalks in the Russian Orlan spacesuit . Hadfield is a civilian ISI astronaut , having retired as a colonel from the Canadian Armed Forces in 2003 after 25 years of military service . He was Chief of Robotics for the NASA Astronaut Office at the Johnson Space Center in Houston , Texas from 2003 – 2006 and was Chief of International Space Station Operations from 2006 – 2008 . In 2008 and 2009 , he trained as a back - up to Robert Thirsk on the Expedition 21 mission . In May 2010 , Hadfield served as the commander of the mission aboard the Aquarius underwater laboratory , living and working underwater for fourteen days . NASA announced in 2010 that Hadfield would become the first Canadian commander of the International Space Station , leading Expedition 35 after its launch on 19 December 2012 . His craft docked with the station on 21 December . He remained on the station for five months , transferring control to Pavel Vinogradov and departing on 13 May 2013 . In June 2013 , one month after completing his third trip to space , Hadfield announced his retirement from the Canadian Space Agency , effective 3 July 2013 . Hadfield stated that after living primarily in the United States since the 1980s for his career , he would be moving back to Canada , " making good on a promise I made my wife nearly 30 years ago — that yes , eventually , we would be moving back to Canada . " He noted that he plans to pursue private interests outside of government there . Hadfield is enthusiastic about the prospects for a manned mission to Mars , and when asked in 2011 if he would consider a one - way journey to Mars to be the first to visit , he said " I would be honoured to be given the opportunity . " Space flights . STS - 74 . Hadfield served as Mission Specialist 1 on STS - 74 in November 1995 . It was NASA ' s second space shuttle mission to rendezvous and dock with the Russian Space Station Mir . During the flight , the crew of Space Shuttle " Atlantis " attached a five - tonne docking module to Mir and transferred over 1 , 000 kg of food , water , and scientific supplies to the cosmonauts . Hadfield flew as the first Canadian to operate the Canadarm in orbit , and the only Canadian ever to board Mir . STS - 100 . In April 2001 , Hadfield served as Mission Specialist 1 on STS - 100 , International Space Station ( ISS ) assembly Flight 6A . The crew of Space Shuttle " Endeavour " delivered and installed Canadarm2 , the new Canadian - built robotic arm , as well as the Italian - made resupply module Raffaello . During the 11 - day flight , Hadfield performed two spacewalks , which made him the first Canadian to ever leave a spacecraft and float freely in space . During his first spacewalk Hadfield experienced a life - threatening lithium hydroxide leak in his spacesuit , forcing him to vent oxygen into space . In total , Hadfield spent 14 hours , 50 minutes outside , travelling 10 times around the world during his spacewalk . International Space Station . On 19 December 2012 , Hadfield launched in the Soyuz TMA - 07M flight for a long duration stay on board the ISS as part of Expedition 35 . He arrived at the station two days later , as scheduled , and became the first Canadian to command the ISS when the crew of Expedition 34 departed in March 2013 . On 12 May 2013 he turned over command of the ISS , and returned home aboard the Soyuz spacecraft on 13 May . He received significant media exposure during his time on the ISS , and ended his time on the station by paying tribute to David Bowie with a rendition of " Space Oddity " . Social media . Hadfield was described as " perhaps the most social media savvy astronaut ever to leave Earth " by Forbes after building a considerable audience on social media , including over 1 , 000 , 000 Twitter followers , and creating one of the top Reddit AmA threads of all time . He also has a popular Tumblr blog . His exchanges with William Shatner and other " Star Trek " actors received media coverage . Hadfield has enlisted the help of his web - savvy sons Evan and Kyle to manage his social media presence . Music . During his free time on Expedition 35 , Hadfield recorded music for an album , using the Larrivée Parlor guitar previously brought to the ISS . The first song recorded in space , " Jewel in the Night " , was released via YouTube on Christmas Eve 2012 . His collaboration with Ed Robertson of the Barenaked Ladies and the Wexford Gleeks , " Is Somebody Singing ? " ( sometimes shortened " I . S . S . " ) , was aired on the CBC Radio program Q and released by CBC Music online on 8 February 2013 . Hadfield sang " Is Somebody Singing " along with singers across Canada for the national Music Monday program . Hadfield has been credited musically on his brother Dave Hadfield ' s albums . On 12 May 2013 , after handing over command of the ISS , but before returning home , Hadfield released a music video recorded on the ISS of a modified rendition of " Space Oddity " by David Bowie . The video has had several million views on YouTube . The performance was the subject of a piece by Glenn Fleishman in " The Economist " on 22 May 2013 analyzing the legal implications of publicly performing a copyrighted work of music while in earth orbit . Post - retirement . In October 2013 Hadfield was interviewed by Maclean ' s Magazine and appeared on its cover good - naturedly agreeing to their request that he let them apply face make - up to " replicate Bowie ' s famed image from the cover of his " Aladdin Sane " album . " On 8 October 2013 the University of Waterloo announced that Hadfield will join the university as a professor for a three - year term beginning in the Fall of 2014 . Hadfield ' s work is expected to involve instructing and advising roles in aviation programs offered by the Faculty of Environment and Faculty of Science , as well as assisting in ongoing research regarding the health of astronauts with the Faculty of Applied Health Sciences . Special honours and affiliations . Hadfield is the recipient of numerous awards and special honours . These include appointment to the Order of Ontario in 1996 , receipt of the Vanier Award in 2001 , NASA Exceptional Service Medal in 2002 , the Queen ' s Golden Jubilee Medal in 2002 and the Queen ' s Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012 . He is also the only Canadian to have received both a military and civilian Meritorious Service Cross , the military medal in 2001 and the civilian one in 2013 . In 1988 , Hadfield was granted the Liethen - Tittle Award ( top pilot graduate of the USAF Test Pilot School ) and was named US Navy Test Pilot of the Year in 1991 . He was inducted into Canada ' s Aviation Hall of Fame in 2005 and Commemorated on Royal Canadian Mint silver and gold coins for his spacewalk to install Canadarm2 on the International Space Station in 2001 . Further , the Royal Military College granted Hadfield an honorary Doctorate of Engineering in 1996 and he was presented with an honorary Doctorate of Laws from Trent University three years later . In 2013 , Hadfield was presented with an Honorary Diploma from Nova Scotia Community College . Upon his taking command of the International Space Station , Elizabeth II , Queen of Canada , sent Hadfield a personal message of congratulations , stating " I am pleased to transmit my personal best wishes , and those of all Canadians , to Colonel Christopher Hadfield as he takes command of the International Space Station . . . " His affiliations include the membership in the Royal Military College Club , Society of Experimental Test Pilots , and Canadian Aeronautics and Space Institute and serving as honorary patron of Lambton College , former trustee of Lakefield College School , board member of the International Space School Foundation , and executive with the Association of Space Explorers . In Sarnia , the city airport was renamed to Sarnia Chris Hadfield Airport in 1997 and he has two public schools named after him - one in Milton , Ontario and the other in Bradford , Ontario . Asteroid 14143 Hadfield is also named after him .