Nick Hague dreamed of the stars as a boy, now he's heading to space

NASA Astronaut Nick Hague kneels down in the Cupola during Robotic Arms training, in preparation for his upcoming mission to space this fall aboard the International Space Center, at Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, U.S., May 14, 2018. Picture taken on May 14, 2018. REUTERS/Ruthy Munoz

HOUSTON (Reuters) - As a boy growing up in Kansas, Nick Hague looked up at the stars and wanted to explore the unknown. In October, his dream will come true when he blasts off on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft to the International Space Station.

Before rocketing into space from Kazakhstan on Expedition 57 for his six-month tour, the 42-year-old father has undergone extensive training in everything from spacewalks to robotics to Russian and the psychology of sharing small spaces.