Capt. Scott Kelly first traveled to space, then to Southeast

NASA astronaut Capt. Scott Kelly spoke to community members and students Wednesday night as part of Southeast Missouri State University’s Speakers Series.

Kelly began his lecture by explaining what he felt to be the best part about flying in space, and this idea went on to set the tone for the rest of the night.

“Space is hard ... it’s hard living in space for a year, but that’s what makes it so great,” Kelly said.

Kelly used this idea to relate it to any endeavor that a person may face in life, highlighting that life is about doing the hard things, not the easy things. He then told a story about his mother reaching a seemingly impossible goal and how it would eventually inspire him to believe he could do anything if he worked hard enough.

Kelly then went on to admit that he was a poor student most of his childhood and into college, but the book “The Right Stuff” by Tom Wolfe he stumbled upon in his university book store inspired him to become a pilot.

Upon completion of his engineering degree, Kelly went on to Navy flight school. He admitted that he “wasn't a good pilot,” and that he had failed on multiple occasions.

“Being willing to make mistakes and failing is something that is really important to see what you are truly capable of doing,” Kelly said.

He then highlighted the importance of never being comfortable with the status quo and how people should strive to change their situation.

When explaining what it was like to leave Earth in a space shuttle, he described it as the “hand of God” lifting him into outer space.

“[The Earth] was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen in my life, and I knew I would never see something like that again,” Kelly said.

Kelly then went on to discuss the changes he had seen on the environment since his time with NASA and in space and how we on Earth should place more focus on renewable energy to maintain and protect our planet.

“I think the right thing to do, is to do the hard thing,” Kelly said.

The night was concluded by Kelly highlighting the importance of better care for Earth, better care for each other, and with regard to goals, “if you can dream it, you can do it.”