But when I was selected, after my very first tour of squadron duty, to become one of the youngest candidates for the test pilot school, I began to realize, maybe you are a little bit better.

We're going to see passengers in space stations in 15 years, who will be able to buy a ticket and spend a weekend in space.

I guess those of us who have been with NASA kind of understand the tremendous excitement and thrills and celebrations and national pride that went with the Apollo program is just something you're not going to create again, probably until we go to Mars.

We need a continuing presence in space.

Obviously I was challenged by becoming a Naval aviator, by landing aboard aircraft carriers and so on.

The fact that every part of this ship was built by the low bidder.

I think the sense of family and family achievement, plus the discipline which I received there from that one-room school were really very helpful in what I did later on.