Need a speaker for a company session....Mike Massimino - Astronaut was funny and interesting!

[Julian]

We recently pulled together our top leaders with the Software Development group and wanted a keynote speaker that wasn't too crazy expensive, but would appeal to a bunch of geeks. We did some research and settle on Mike Massimino, NASA astronaut and author of "Spaceman: An Astronaut's Unlikely Journey to Unlock the Secrets of the Universe".

He told some amusing stories around his shuttle flights and life in general. So if you seek someone to speak at an event, I recommend him.

Some of my favorite lines of his, (paraphrased) are:

• "Never give up, even if you make as mistake, because - trust me - you can still make it plenty worse"
• "I felt really bad because I thought I'd let the team down, but I was wrong - because that is what teams are about - we were all together on the mission"
• "When you are sitting in a giant bomb (Space Shuttle) for the first time it really is terrifying"
• "We're out at the launch pad and I'm thinking where is everyone....then I realize....no one else is dumb enough to get this close" (in reference to how the launch pad is cleared of everyone before launch)

If you are interested...here is his speaker link.