Book Description

Finalist for the 2014 Canadian Science Writers' Association's Science in Society General Book Award There are astronauts, and there are spacewalkers. Astronauts leave earth's atmosphere in a spaceship. Spacewalkers don pressure suits and step outside into the universe. Spacewalking is a physically exhausting, mentally rigorous endeavor. It's so difficult, only three Canadians have ever succeeded: Chris Hadfield, Steve MacLean and Dave Williams. Chris Hadfield and Dave Williams are record breakers; Hadfield completed thefirst Canadian spacewalk and installed the Canadarm 2 on the International Space Station, while Williams holds the record forthe longest spacewalk by a Canadian. And Steve MacLean, Senior Research Affiliate at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics and former head of the Canadian Space Agency, was one of Canada's original six astronauts. But what is it really like to step into that abyss; to leap out into space with only the thin fabric of your suit between you and the universe? In Canadian Spacewalkers, author Bob McDonald compiles each of the spacewalkers' perspectives and presents an extensive interview transcription -- a one-on-one with spacewalkers who tell tales of training underwater in the world's largest swimming pool, recount how they learned to use power tools in zero gravity while wearing bulky gloves and describe the moment when they opened the hatch and stepped outside. McDonald, science journalist and simulator-spacewalker, also shares his own experiences with astronaut training: the almost- reality of simulators, the sensory deprivation of the spacesuit, and even a zero-g airplane ride where he experiences the wonder and giddiness of floating weightless. Highly illustrated with stunning NASA photos, Canadian Spacewalkers will inspire, astound and surprise. This is the gripping first-hand story of unique adventurers -- in their own words -- who have gone where very few humans have had the privilege to go.