Chris Hadfield Disadvantages

Unfortunately, living in Canada gave Chris a semi-disadvantage over other potential astronauts that wanted to explore life in space as well. When Chris determined he wanted to be an astronaut, being a Canadian citizen only decreased his chances. He wrote, “I also knew, as did every kid in Canada, that it was impossible. Astronauts were American. NASA only accepted applications from U.S citizens, and Canada didn't even have a space agency [5].” However, this didn’t stop Chris from obtaining his dream career. In fact, “In June 1992 Chris Hadfield was selected to become one of four new Canadian astronauts from a field of 5330 applicants. He was assigned by the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) to the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas [3].” …show more content…
He says, “Crew time on the ISS was determined by the amount of money a country contributed; Canada provided less than 2 percent of the Stations funding, so got less than 2 percent of the crew time [5].” If Canada put more money into the program, Chris would be able to fly more, putting him at a semi-disadvantage over other astronauts from different countries. I believe this is unfair that the ISS only gets 2 percent of crew time because it limits the astronomers ability to show their talents and experience life on the crew, since they contribute less money it puts the members apart of the ISS at a disadvantage. Their countries contribution should not affect the amount of crew time, because as individuals they have no control on how much money their country contributes. However, this unfair rule caused Chris to gain increased national significance. Since he was from Canada, a smaller contributor to the ISS, he was more recognized for being an astronaut and exploring