NASA Astronaut Richard “Rick” Linnehan will visit Bulgaria May 9-14, 2018. He will spend time in Sofia and Plovdiv, and will talk 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.
During his visit, Astronaut Linnehan will visit the Palace of Culture in Plovdiv on Friday, May 11th, speak at the Sofia Science Festival (Mtel Arena Hall at Sofia Tech Park) at 17:30 on Saturday, May 12th and meet with Olympiad medal winners and other students at Muzeiko on Sunday, May 13th.
Rick Linnehan was a veterinarian determined to travel to the stars. 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 9 minutes. In 2008, as the lead mission space walker, he walked in space another three times – logging 22 hours and 2 minutes outside of the Shuttle.
Currently Dr. Linnehan splits his time between NASA’s Exploration and Integration Branch, and NASA’s Human Research Program.
