Canadian Astronaut and ISS Cmdr Hadfield’s charm and easy way with the camera are not the whole story behind his popularity. Long before setting off on this expedition to the space station, officials at the Canadian Space Agency were preparing him for fame.
Recognising his ability to explain complex issues easily, they gave him a video camera several years ago and asked him to begin practicing with it through his training.
A professional editing team have polished the footage he has sent back, setting his antics to zany music and with fun graphics.
His final video dispatch from the Space Station (shown above) was a cover of the David Bowie song Space Oddity.
The music video, believed to be the first filmed in space, shows Cmdr Hadfield floating through various parts of the space station and playing his guitar along to a backing track.
Together, what Cmdr Hadfield and his team have achieved is to bring the space station alive for those back on Earth.
They have transformed the ISS from being a sprawling £84 billion laboratory where just an elite few who travel, into a place of wonderment – a playground where all the things we take for granted can be turned on their head.
Being able to share in just a part of that through Cmdr Hadfield’s videos has somehow helped to make the enormous building and running costs of the space station easier to swallow.
It has given the world the chance to be part of something very special.
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