Last week Jill Thomas introduced Clayton Anderson as an Honorary Member of Omaha West Rotary. Clayton is Nebraska's only Astronaut.
Clayton spent a total of 30 years working for NASA; 15 as an engineer and then 15 as an Astronaut. As a veteran of two space flights, Clay logged 167 days in space and 38 hours and 28 minutes of EVA (Extra Vehicular Activities) on six spacewalks. He completed 5 months aboard the space station in 2007 and served aboard the STS-131 crew in 2010. Ultimately succeeding in one of the most difficult and coveted jobs in the world through perseverance and a never-give-up attitude.
He’s an accomplished motivational and inspirational speaker… And… he’s also an author of AWARD-WINNING books … including: - The Ordinary SpacemanTM: From Boyhood Dreams to Astronaut, - A is for Astronaut: Blasting Through the Alphabet - It’s a Question of Space: An Ordinary Astronaut’s Answers to Sometimes Extraordinary Questions - Letters from Space (2020) - And, ‘launching’ this year (August 2023) - So, You Want To Be An Astronaut Clay is also a podcaster - hosting The Making of An Ordinary Spaceman And the subject of Homemade Astronaut: The Clay Anderson Story produced by Nebraska Public Media. Clay is a Professor of Practice at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa.
As of 2022, Clayton became the president and CEO of the Strategic Air Command & Aerospace Museum near his hometown, Ashland NE. Welcome, Clayton!
