In 1998, Clayton Anderson was a 29-year-old aerospace engineer who wanted to fulfill his childhood dream of going to space, but NASA was stopping him. He applied 15 times and received as many rejection letters. On his sixteenth try, which he had already decided would be his last, he was accepted.
In January, with 167 hours in space under his belt, Anderson announced that it was time to retire. He’s now focused his attention on teaching and finishing his book, which details the life of an astronaut. Anderson has teaching opportunities at Iowa State University and the University of Nebraska at Omaha.