I just wanted to be the first one to fly for America, not because I'd end up in the pages of history books.

I woke up an hour before I was supposed to, and started going over the mental checklist: where do I go from here, what do I do? I don't remember eating anything at all, just going through the physical, getting into the suit. We practiced that so much, it was all rote.

We also knew it would be difficult, because of the financial condition of the family, for me to go to college.

We worked with the engineers in the design and construction and testing phases in those various areas, then we would get back together at the end of the week and brief each other as to what had gone on.

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

The same way people are now paying a couple thousand dollars to fly to other parts of the world, people will be paying $50,000 to spend a weekend on a space station.

Why don't you fix your little problem and light this candle?