Astronaut Chris Hadfield describes his first trip into space

Astronaut Chris Hadfield describes blasting off into space for the first time. Video by Business Insider.

In a sit down interview with Business Insider, retired astronaut Chris Hadfield describes the excitement of blasting off into space for the first time. Hadfield, whose social media persona led to international celebrity, made his inaugural trip into space on November 12, 1995, as a mission specialist on the Shuttle Atlantis.

But before arriving at the Russian Space Station Mir, Hadfield lived through the quiet thrill of waiting for the shuttle’s solid rocket boosters to ignite and spew close to 8 million pounds of thrust. Hadfield would become the only Canadian to board the Mir space station before it was retired in 2001.