Megan McArthur: A NASA astronaut’s lessons on fear, confidence and preparing for spaceflight | TED

Visit to get our entire library of TED Talks, transcripts, translations, personalized talk recommendations and more. How does an astronaut prepare physically and mentally to launch into space? NASA astronaut Megan McArthur, who traveled to the International Space Station in April 2021 as part of the SpaceX Crew-2 mission, shares stellar life lessons on how to cultivate the resolve to do incredible things through preparation — and a dash of bravery. A rare glimpse at what it takes to literally shoot for the stars. (This virtual conversation, hosted by TEDWomen curator Pat Mitchell, was recorded in November 2020.) The TED Talks channel features the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world’s leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes (or less). Look for talks on Technology, Entertainment and Design — plus science, business, global issues, the arts and more. You’re welcome to link to or embed these videos, forward them to others and share these ideas with people you know. Become a TED Member: Follow TED on Twitter: Like TED on Facebook: Subscribe to our channel: TED’s videos may be used for non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons License, Attribution–Non Commercial–No Derivatives (or the CC BY – NC – ND 4.0 International) and in accordance with our TED Talks Usage Policy (). For more information on using TED for commercial purposes (e.g. employee learning, in a film or online course), please submit a Media Request at