We were on the dark side of the Earth when we started to see outside the window this soft pink glow, which is a lot of little angry ions out there going very fast. We were hitting them very fast.

Looking down at the Earth, you started to pick up a sense of speed much more than I had noticed on orbit.

We were on the dark side of the Earth when we started to see outside the window this soft pink glow, which is a lot of little angry ions out there going very fast. We were hitting them very fast.

When you work really hard for something for a long time it's almost impossible to believe that it's coming true.

Having the opportunity to fly the first flight of something like a space shuttle was the ultimate test flight.

If you want to go into space first time on a new vehicle that's never been flown, you want to go with a pro.

This vehicle is performing like a champ. I've got a super spaceship under me.