Colonel Chris Hadfield has spent decades training as an astronaut and has logged nearly 4,000 hours in space. During this time he has broken into a Space Station with a Swiss army knife, been confronted by a live snake while piloting a plane, been temporarily blinded while clinging to the exterior of an orbiting spacecraft, and become a YouTube sensation with his performance of David Bowie's Space Oddity in space.

The secret to Chris Hadfield's success, and survival, is an unconventional philosophy he learned at NASA: prepare for the worst - and enjoy every moment of it.

Episode 3
Preparation and 'sweating the small stuff' are crucial to staying alive. Astronauts are taught to constantly ask, 'what is the next thing that is going to kill me ?'

Reader: Garrick Hagon
Abridged and produced by Jill Waters

A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4. Show less