CS 77: Navy SEAL to Astronaut | CEO Medal of Honor Museum Foundation | Space Walker | Chris Cassidy
About This Episode
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Today we have a Combat Story first with our first Astronaut who spent over 377 days in space and completed 10 spacewalks (where he’s actually out in space in nothing but his suit): Chris Cassidy. Before he joined NASA, Chris was a Navy SEAL and was one of the very first sent into Afghanistan in 2001 after 9/11.
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There’s very little Chris has not accomplished. He attended the US Naval Academy, received a Master of Science in Ocean Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and has two Honorary PhD's.
As a SEAL, Chris earned a Bronze Star with Valor and a Presidential Unit Citation for combat in Afghanistan. He was NASA’s 14th Chief Astronaut, which is the head of NASA’s Astronaut Corps and is the principal advisor to the NASA Administrator on astronaut training and operations.
Chris is incredibly humble given his accomplishments and it’s no surprise he is now President and CEO of the National Medal of Honor Museum Foundation, where he’s leading efforts to build out an iconic Museum for MOH recipients, a Leadership Institute, and a Monument on the National Mall.
Show Notes:
Chris Cassidy
Chapters
- 0:00Intro
- 1:05Guest Introduction (Chris Cassidy)
- 2:31Interview begins
- 8:10Childhood and interest in military
- 19:18Path to SEAL Teams
- 25:20About his first SEAL Team, an underwater vehicle team
- 29:30Where he was when 911 happened and how SEAL Team 3 reposnded
- 38:19Combat Story - First time leading troops into an engagement
- 42:07Combat Story - Aha moment while on a mission in the caves of Afghan-Pakistan border
- 46:56Team dynamics in a small unit like a SEAL Team
- 52:09Leadership and the danger of complacency and overconfidence
- 54:24Transition to NASA
- 1:04:53First flight expereince as an astronaut
- 1:13:15First spacewalk experience
- 1:17:56Story of a hairy experience during a spacewalk mission
- 1:30:14Feeling privileged to do the work and the long-term fatigue that can happen
- 1:31:53National Medal of Honor Museum
- 1:40:56Dealing with setbacks along his path
- 1:43:05What did you carry into combat/space?
- 1:44:21Would you do it again?
- 1:45:46Listener comments and shout outs
