Iowa State University
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News Service

News Service:

Annette Hacker, director,
(515) 294-3720

Office: (515) 294-4777

12-13-07

The daily commute

Iowa State University graduate Clayton Anderson flies through the International Space Station.

An Iowa Stater talks about his life in space

Clayton Anderson, who earned a master's degree in aerospace engineering from Iowa State in 1983, joked during a recent WOI Radio interview about the ease of flying to work aboard the International Space Station. Anderson spent nearly five months aboard the station working as the Expedition 15 flight engineer. This October photo shows him flying through the station's Unity Node. NASA photo.

Quick look

Iowa State University President Gregory Geoffroy recently invited Clayton Anderson, an Iowa State graduate and NASA astronaut, to appear on the president's monthly radio show. Anderson told host Rob Dillard and "Talk of Iowa" listeners about his boyhood dreams to be an astronaut, his days studying engineering at Iowa State and the 16 times he applied to be an astronaut before making the corps. Hear the show by visiting the WOI Radio Group's audio archives and clicking on "Talk of Iowa - President Geoffroy and Astronaut Clayton Anderson - 12/12/07."

Quote

Clayton Anderson's advice for budding astronauts:

"It doesn't matter where you're from or how small or big your town is, it only matters what's in your heart and how badly you want to do something. I would encourage all the kids in Iowa and in the Midwest that if they have a dream -- whether it be an astronaut or a doctor or a fireman or whatever it is -- they just have to work hard and they have to persevere. And if they do those two things and they throw their passion at it, they've got a really good chance of succeeding."