Not Dead Yet Clayton Anderson
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May 5, 2026 
Clayton Anderson, astronaut and aerospace professor who spent 167 days aboard the ISS and did multiple spacewalks, shares vivid stories. He talks about long training, the moment of stepping into the void, and living and working on the International Space Station. He reflects on exploration’s pull, international teamwork, and the hurdles to getting humans to Mars.
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Small Town Kid To NASA Engineer
- Clayton Anderson dreamed of being an astronaut since childhood and marched in a kiddie parade as a Mercury astronaut in Ashland, Nebraska.
- He parlayed a 1981 NASA internship (1 of 40 selected out of 480) into a 1983 Johnson Space Center engineering job after finishing his master's at Iowa State.
Rejected 14 Times Before Getting In
- Clayton applied to be an astronaut every year for 15 years and was rejected 14 times before eventual selection.
- Taking an Emergency Operations Center lead role at Johnson exposed him to management and simulation exercises that strengthened his astronaut application.
Use Plan Train And Execute For Tough Tasks
- Plan, train, and execute is Clayton's core rule for mission operations and emergency preparedness.
- He implemented simulations across security, fire, and medical teams at JSC to build real readiness and visibility with leadership.