Cady Coleman – An Astronaut's Guide to Mission, Wonder & Making Change
Cady Coleman splashes down on Irish Stew to help us explore“The Final Frontier” through the pages of her new book, Sharing Space: An Astronaut's Guide to Mission, Wonder, and Making Change.
Part memoir, part chronicle of the astronaut’s life, part manifesto for the power of mission, Sharing Space explores the significance of collaboration, diversity, and making the most of your missions in bringing people together to meet common goals. Through candid reflections and storytelling, “Astro Cady” tells tales that will inspire anyone, especially women and young people, to contribute to positive global change.
Our episode launches in Ireland under the giant planet Earth rotating at the end of the Trinity College Library Long Room and later touches down in Ireland at its earthiest at the National Ploughing Championships.
Join us on a trip from Ireland to the stars with the astronaut who played Paddy Moloney’s tin whistle and Matt Molloy’s flute while floating high above the Global Irish Nation in Space.
Links:
Social Media
- Twitter/X
- LinkedIn
- Seamus Plug: Cady Coleman public speaking
- Previous Irish Stew episode: Irish American Astronaut & Musician
Episode Details: Season 6, Episode 19
00:00 - Introduction
01:02 - Celebrating Space at Trinity College Dublin
02:21 - Unexpected Space MIssion
06:29 - Choosing a Book Cover Photo
09:43 - Permission and Sally Ride
15:01 - The Boy Apology
16:01 - Adding to the Mission and Building Team
22:57 - Visiting Ireland: Ploughing, Music and Inspiration
29:49 - Building Trust Through Vulnerability
33:30 - When the Spacesuit Doesn't Fit
40:25 - Seamus Plug: Be An Ally
43:30 - Credits
Cady Coleman
Astronaut / Scientist/Author
Cady Coleman is a former NASA Astronaut and a retired US Air Force Colonel with more than 180 days in space, accumulated during two space shuttle missions and a six-month expedition to the International Space Station (ISS) as the Lead Robotics and Lead Science officer.
Cady served in a variety of roles within the Astronaut Office, including Chief of Robotics, and lead astronaut for integration of supply ships from NASA’s commercial partners. Before retiring from NASA, she led open-innovation and public-private partnership efforts for NASA’s Chief Technologist.
A popular public speaker and media consultant, she also serves as a research affiliate to MIT’s Media Lab. She is a regular contributor to space exploration news and co-hosted Arizona State University’s Mission: Interplanetary podcast. Cady serves on several boards, including the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Greenfield Community College, and the ISS National Lab Education Advisory Group.
Cady and her family were recently featured in two documentaries, PBS’s The Longest Goodbye, and The Wonderful: Stories from the Space Station.
Her book, Sharing Space: An Astronaut’s Guide to Mission, Wonder, and Making Change, about her NASA experiences and the insights she gained as an astronaut, was recently published by Penguin.
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