Astronaut | Rick Searfoss motivational speaker | keynote speaker| professional speaker of the year | Astronauht

News Release:

Professional Speaker, Colonel Rick Searfoss has won the coveted International Professional Speaker Of The Year Award by the American Speakers Bureau Corporation in Orlando, Florida. Rick Searfoss was chosen from thousands of professional speakers, motivational speakers, keynote speakers and inspirational speakers.

Rick Searfoss, Professional Speaker, (Former Top Gun Pilot) Astronaut, Space Shuttle Commander and currently Business Entrepreneur, shares his stories about leadership, team building, team work, safety, execution, innovation, inspiration, motivation, dedication, focus, hope for our world, the global economy, and the future of mankind.

Colonel Rick Searfoss, has over twenty-five years experience as a leader in some of the most demanding team endeavors possible - human space flight, test flying, and tactical military aviation.

Rick has unsurpassed credibility and experience coupled with "out-of-this-world" speaking skills! Since leaving NASA, Rick has become involved in a series of dazzling entrepreneurial ventures with Burt Rutan as the Chief Judge for the highly successful and innovative Ansari X Prize competition for a 10 million dollar prize to the first private team to develop and fly a reusable human-carrying spacecraft.

Rick continues to stay right in the middle in some of today's most innovative leading-edge projects: Vice President of the Zero Gravity Corporation, XCOR Aerospace experimental rocket plane test pilot, and as a flight test, leader and spokesperson for numerous space entrepreneurial ventures. Plus he was invited for a guest appearance on Donald Trump's hit show, The Apprentice.

Each year American Speakers Bureau picks just one professional speaker who has demonstrated the true spirit of leadership and teamwork in our industry.

Rick Searfoss joins a distinguished group of professional speakers who have won this award including: Dr. Nate Booth, (three times) Dr. Johnny Miller, (twice) Mr. Pat Williams, founder of the Orlando Magic Basketball Team, and Astronaut, Dr. Story Musgrave.

Rick is the sixth professional speaker to win this prestigious ward in eleven years. The founder and president of American Speakers Bureau, Mr. Frank Candy said: "Rick Searfoss has demonstrated sophistication, style and professionalism above and beyond all the rest. Rick is a class act with a great vision for the future and outstanding wisdom for every level of business people. Rick uses out-of-this-world stories about the right stuff and outstanding delivery skills that move the audience to believe they can achieve anything. Rick is a true American hero and we are honored to give him this great award."

SPACE FLIGHT EXPERIENCE:
Searfoss served as STS-58 pilot on the seven-person life science research mission aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia, launching from the Kennedy Space Center on October 18, 1993, and landing at Edwards Air Force Base on November 1, 1993. The crew performed neurovestibular, cardiovascular, cardiopulmonary, metabolic, and musculoskeletal medical experiments on themselves and 48 rats, expanding our knowledge of human and animal physiology both on earth and in space flight. In addition, the crew performed 16 engineering tests aboard the Orbiter Columbia and 20 Extended Duration Orbiter Medical Project experiments. The mission was accomplished in 225 orbits of the Earth. Launching March 22, 1996,

Searfoss flew his second mission as pilot of STS-76 aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis. During this 9-day mission the STS-76 crew performed the third docking of an American spacecraft with the Russian space station Mir. In support of a joint U.S./Russian program, the crew transported to Mir nearly two tons of water, food, supplies, and scientific equipment, as well as U.S. Astronaut Shannon Lucid to begin her six-month stay in space. STS-76 included the first ever spacewalk on a combined Space Shuttle-Space Station complex. The flight crew also conducted scientific investigations, including European Space Agency sponsored biology experiments, the Kidsat earth observations project, and several engineering flight tests. Completed in 145 orbits, STS-76 landed at Edwards Air Force Base, California, on March 31, 1996.

Searfoss commanded a seven person crew on the STS-90 Neurolab mission which launched on April 17, 1998. During the 16-day Spacelab flight the crew served as both experiment subjects and operators for 26 individual life science experiments focusing on the effects of microgravity on the brain and nervous system. STS-90 was the last and most complex of the twenty-five Spacelab missions NASA has flown. Neurolab's scientific results will have broad applicability both in preparing for future long duration human space missions and in clinical applications on Earth. Completed in 256 orbits, STS-90 landed at Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on May 3, 1998.....PILOT OF STS-58 AND 76, COMMANDER ON 90, and had a role on the TV Show Donald Trump - The Apprentice.