Former NASA astronaut shares takeaways from his year in space

MADISON, WI – Former NASA astronaut and retired United States Navy Captain Scott Kelly delivered a laughter-filled and passionate speech in a packed lecture hall in Memorial Union on Tuesday Night. He offered lessons he learned during his lifelong training to travel 143 million miles in space. 

 

At the beginning of the lecture, Kelly explained his lack of motivation in his early education. He conveys the irony of his journey from an uninterested student to a highly educated employee of NASA. 

 

"[I] went to college because I thought it was something I thought I was supposed to do... I actually went to the wrong school. Now I do not mean that I went to this school over here thinking that this one was a better fit for me," Kelly said. "What I mean is I actually applied to and showed up to this college thinking that I was going to this one over here. That was my ability to concentrate and pay attention to anything at the time." 

 

After describing his educational setbacks, Kelly narrowed his focus by discussing his time in the Navy and his perseverance through training as a fighter pilot, his first step to becoming an astronaut.  

 

"I am not a particularly good pilot. I know it's hard to believe for a guy who has landed a space shuttle, but I was not good at it," Kelly said. "And you know what, I have learned throughout my whole career is how good we are when we start something is not related whatsoever with how good we can become at anything with hard work and determination and never ever giving up on yourself."

 

Kelly concluded his lecture examining his admission into NASA's astronaut training program and his preparation for a 340-day mission in space. He states his main takeaways from this mission and years of working on the international space station. 

 

"After spending a year in space, I was absolutely inspired that if we can dream it, we can do it," Kelly said. "If we have a goal and a plan, if we are willing to take risks, make mistakes at times and even be willing to fail, if we focus on things we can control and ignore what we can't [and] if we test the status quo and work as a team, teamwork makes the dream work if you choose to do the hard things. If we do that, the sky is definitely not the limit." 

 

University of Wisconsin-Madison Freshman Ellen Dingwall left the lecture sharing this sentiment. 

 

"I think he wanted people to understand that humans are capable of anything. At the end of the day we are all just on a giant planet of rocks and water pretty much," Dingwall said. "There are certain issues people can put behind them and think for the greater good of the planet. We can do so many things like go to mars and cure cancer."