The Moth (en-US) | Stories | A Moment of Silence

A Moment of Silence - Leland Melvin

Jump directly to the extras

“I’m trying to figure out what my next steps are... to figure out what I’m going to do as a semi-deaf astronaut.”

Photo by Jason Falchook

Leland Melvin suffers a devastating injury that cuts short his dream of flying in space.

Listen Now Add to Playlist

Feb 05, 2019

New York City, New York

Apr 18, 2018

12:22

Leland's now-famous NASA portrait featuring his two rescue dogs, Jake and Scout, who he secretly smuggled into NASA for the photoshoot.

Leland's NASA headshot.