Colonel Terry Virts (retired) served as a U.S. Air Force F-16 fighter pilot, test pilot and NASA astronaut. He is a veteran of two spaceflights- piloting the space shuttle Endeavour, performing three spacewalks and commanding the International Space Station during his seven months in orbit. He is a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, and Harvard Business School, where he won the 2021 Alumni Achievement Award.
 
As well as being a motivational speaker and executive coach Terry also serves on the boards of several companies in the aerospace, financial and tech industries. He has recently worked as a consultant in the energy sector and has served in several pro-democracy organizations. In 2026 Terry was also a candidate for Congress in the state of Texas.

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Virts has authored several books including the National Geographic photography book View From Above (2017), a collection of short stories about space travel How to Astronaut (2020) and a children’s book The Astronaut’s Guide to Leaving the Planet (2023). He has also directed several films, One More Orbit (2019), Cosmic Perspective (2020) and The Night After (2023) as well as contributing to the IMAX film A Beautiful Planet (2016).