So most astronauts getting ready to lift off are excited and very anxious and worried about that explosion - because if something goes wrong in the first seconds of launch, there's not very much you can do.

The view of earth is absolutely spectacular, and the feeling of looking back and seeing your planet as a planet is just an amazing feeling. It's a totally different perspective, and it makes you appreciate, actually, how fragile our existence is.

One thing I probably share with everyone else in the astronaut office is composure.

Our future lies with today's kids and tomorrow's space exploration.

Different astronauts sleep in different ways.

Once you are assigned to a flight, the whole crew is assigned at the same time, and then that crew trains together for a whole year to prepare for that flight.

Even though NASA tries to simulate launch, and we practice in simulators, it's not the same - it's not even close to the same.