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 1

At the age of 9, Canadian Chris Hadfield watched Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon and decided that he wanted to be an astronaut.

Reader: Garrick Hagon

Abridged and produced by Jill Waters

A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4.