Mike Massimino - Astronaut

This former NASA Astronaut, originally selected in 1996, completed two space shuttle missions, four spacewalks and was the first person to tweet from space! He holds the team record for the most time spent spacewalking on a single shuttle mission and accomplished the most complicated spacewalk ever attempted in order to conduct essential repairs to the Hubble Space Telescope. He is the recipient of two NASA Space Flight Medals, the American Astronautical Society’s Flight Achievement Award, the Star of Italian Solidarity and the NASA Distinguished Service Medal.

Currently a professor of mechanical engineering at Columbia University, he has a lot of experience addressing large audiences. Although no longer participating in space shuttle missions, Mike continues to share his passion for space exploration as the senior advisor for space programs at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum.

An exemplary demonstration of perseverance, Mike persisted through three rejections over a period of seven years in his journey to becoming an astronaut. One of these roadblocks included overcoming a medical disqualification in which he has to train his eyes and brain to see better.

Mike will also be a familiar face to many from his numerous television appearances. Boasting a six-time recurring role on the popular CBS comedy 'The Big Bang Theory', where he plays himself, and as the host of 'The Planets and Beyond' on the Science Channel. In addition to these recurring roles, Mike is also a regular guest expert on news programmes and late-night TV shows, such as CNN, Fox News and The Late Show with David Letterman, and was featured in National Geographic Television’s 'One Strange Rock'. His experience disseminating sometimes quite complex information to audiences of all demographics is a skill he now uses in his keynote speeches, allowing him to effectively connect with event guests.

Author of New York Times best-seller 'Spaceman: An Astronaut's Unlikely Journey to Unlock the Secrets of the Universe', he has received rave reviews for his writing.