Nasa astronaut Rick Linnehan to visit Bulgaria in May 2018
Nasa astronaut Richard “Rick” Linnehan will visit Bulgaria from May 9 to 14 2018, the US embassy said.
Linnehan will spend time in Sofia and Plovdiv, and will speak about his life as an astronaut. He will also talk about following dreams, the importance of STEM education, and the opportunities available to those who work hard and are willing to try new things.
He will visit the Palace of Culture in Plovdiv on May 11, speak at the Sofia Science Festival (Mtel Arena Hall at Sofia Tech Park) at 5.30pm on May 12 and meet Olympiad medal winners and other students at Muzeiko on May 13.
“Rick Linnehan was a veterinarian determined to travel to the stars,” the US embassy statement said.
Nasa selected him to be an astronaut in 1992, and he flew into space aboard Space Shuttle Columbia in 1996, 1998, and 2002 – and he flew into space aboard Space Shuttle Endeavor in 2008.
In 2002, Dr. Linnehan walked in space three times for a total of 21 hours and nine minutes.
In 2008, as the lead mission space walker, he walked in space another three times – logging 22 hours and two minutes outside of the Shuttle.
Currently Linnehan splits his time between Nasa’s Exploration and Integration Branch, and Nasa’s Human Research Programme, the embassy statement said.
