- In 2010, NASA announced that Hadfield would be the first Canadian who commanded the International Space Station (Expedition 35, which was launched in December, 2012).
- In his pre-NASA career, Chris flew over 70 types of aircraft.
- Flying intercept missions for NORAD, Hadfield was the first CF-18 pilot to intercept a Soviet long-range bomber that was flying over the Canadian Arctic.
- While on Expedition 35, Chris was prolific in the conversations and interactions he had with people on Earth. Among those, William Shatner (of Star Trek) fame, and a pre-scheduled 20 minute conversation with students from the University of Waterloo. You can still catch the fascinating video of this recorded interview.
- Hadfield gained the admiration of millions during his historic, five-month mission. One of those was a fellow Canadian astronaut, who had been in space many years ago; Marc Garneau. Garneau remarked that Chris had “superstar status” and basically could have had his choice of careers.
- After doing a cover of David Bowie’s Space Oddity—a video which, by the way, went viral on YouTube almost immediately—he got a little recognition (just a little) from Bowie who in a response posted on his website said “Hallo Spaceboy…”
- After he and his two fellow astronauts had their rough re-entry and landing on Earth, all three had to enter a recuperation and re-adjustment phase, in order to gain back muscle mass and retrain their bodies how to do quite normal things. Hadfield reported that one of his immediate problems was talking: in the weightlessness of space, he had forgotten how much his lips and tongue weighed.
- As reported in Canada.com and elsewhere, the stress of Chris’ flight (especially re-entry) played havoc on members of his family. His son, Evan, in charge of social media for his famous father, was in high demand to provide media interviews.
- Many of the ways in which Hadfield entertained and engaged were dreamt up as far in advance as the fall of 2010, following NASAs announcement about Hadfield. The astronaut worked with the Canadian Space agency to come with ways to engage a jaded pubic.
- Hadfield is married to his high-school sweetheart, Helene, and they have three adult children.