Col. Terry Virts (ret) served as a U.S. Air Force test fighter pilot, is a NASA veteran of two spaceflights, an International Space Station Commander, Space Shuttle Pilot and a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and Harvard Business School. He is a celebrated thought leader, speaker and author whose ?seven months in space included: piloting the Space Shuttle; commanding the International Space Station; three spacewalks; and performing scientific experiments, while working closely with multiple international partners. Also, while in space he took more than 300,000 photos – more than on any other space mission. The images are an integral component of the National Geographic IMAX film ?A Beautiful Planet?, which Virts also shot and stars in. His first book for National Geographic, ?View From Above?, combines his best photography with stories about spaceflight alongside his perspectives about life on earth and our place in the cosmos.? Virts has also written a book entitled How To Astronaut: An Insiders Guide to leaving Planet Earth, a wildly entertaining account of his experiences in space travel.
