Leroy Chiao

Astronaut

Astronaut Leroy Chiao is a veteran of four space missions, recently acting as Commander of Expedition 10 aboard the International Space Station. He has logged over 229 days in space - over 36 hours of which were spent in Extra-Vehicular Activity (EVA, or spacewalks). He served as a member of the White House appointed Review of U.S. Human Spaceflight Plans Committee.

Dr. Chiao left NASA in 2005 and is involved in entrepreneurial business ventures and works in the US, China, Japan and Russia. He is a director of Excalibur Almaz, a private manned spaceflight company. In addition, he is a director of InNexus, a biotechnology/pharmaceutical development company. Active as a consultant and public speaker, he also serves as the Chairman of the National Space Biomedical Research Institute User Panel, which is attached to the Baylor College of Medicine. Dr. Chiao is a director of Challenger Center and of the Committee of 100. He is also an advisor and spokesman for the Heinlein Prize Trust.

Everything Videos Articles

Surprising Science

Corporate Sponsors for Space Travel

Companies that specialize in science fiction and futuristic space travel will embrace the commercial space age.

Leroy Chiao’s Advice for Aspiring Astronauts

Stay fit and be a star in whatever studies you pursue.

Being Small and Different

Leroy Chiao had to overcome being picked on for his small stature and being one of the few minorities in his mostly white Midwest town.

What Keeps You Up at Night?

These days the astronaut worries about how best to prepare his young children for a changing world.

An Astronaut’s Dream Dinner Date

Leroy Chiao would break bread with Sergei Korolyov, the father of the Soviet Space program and the first man to build a rocket that could make it into space.

The Pitfalls of Office Politics

Before becoming an astronaut, Leroy Chiao made some classic mistakes working as a young engineer, but he’s glad he learned his lesson early.

The Astronaut’s Worst Career Advice

Telling people to pursue there interests without an eye to the future is a big mistake.

An Astronaut’s Heroes

Leroy Chiao looks up to Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong but he also admires his parents who immigrated from China and finally settled in the Midwest.

Playing Nice in Outer Space

Leroy Chiao says the most important quality for an astronaut is the ability to get along with others.

The Next Big Thing

Propulsion is still the key to improving transportation in space and on earth

Crisis in Outer Space

Leroy Chiao was the commander “when all of the alarms started going off” and “we actually started rotating away from the space station.”

How Space Travel Can Kill You

Before humans can spend long periods of time in space, scientists need to find a way to solve the many health problems that astronauts face, including bone and muscle loss.

Fly Me to the Moon

Chiao is now director at Excalibur Almaz, a firm that plans to shoot paying customers into outer space within the next few years.

Icy Space Relations

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Russian space program has been working closely with NASA. But current Sino-American relations in space are basically non-existent.

My Four Space Missions

Leroy Chiao’s four visits to space were very different, from his virgin flight to returning finally as a Russian-speaking mission commander.

“I Want to be One of Those Guys”

Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin’s 1969 moon landing had a profound impact on Chiao, sparking his dream to one day do the same.

Big Think Interview With Leroy Chiao

A conversation with Chinese-American astronaut and director of Excalibur Almaz, a recreational space travel firm.

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