Episode 106. The Space Race: Leroy Chiao

Those of us who grew up during the Cold War were keenly aware of the space race between the US and USSR. With us to relive the victories and tragedies of the space race is Leroy Chiao. Leroy is a former NASA astronaut and International Space Station commander. A veteran of four space missions, Leroy most recently served as Commander and NASA Science Officer of Expedition 10 aboard the International Space Station. He logged 229 days in space - over 36 hours of which were spent in spacewalks. Leroy flew missions with Russian, Japanese, and European astronauts and their affiliated space agencies. In addition to being a Space Station Commander and Space Shuttle Mission Specialist, Leroy was also a certified co-pilot of the Russian Soyuz spacecraft. Today we discuss his book Dinner with an Astronaut, published in 2026 by Hanover Square Press.