You're always under the microscope, and you don't know which mission you're going to get. It's a surprise.

I am definitely a little more nervous for my colleagues when I'm working at mission control than I am myself, on the shuttle.

You're less apprehensive when you know what to expect. Also, the first flight is very important in this performance-driven culture I work in; it establishes your reputation. If you don't do well, it's probably your last flight.

Most people here don't have a wide emotional range. It's just the type of people astronauts are, they're required to be level.

Nobody is going anywhere in 10 years.

A lot of people, I think, would love to see the earth from above, wear a spacesuit. Certainly, when I was a kid, I wanted to wear a spacesuit.

My husband and I don't worry about each other the way we might if we didn't have similar jobs. I sometimes get an email where he tells me he's heading off on a mission to do terrain avoidance 50 feet above the ground at 500 knots. And I just say, "Okay, have a good flight."