I Have Been A Bit Of A

I Never Went Into Physics Or The Astronaut Corps To Become A Role Model. But After My First Flight, It Became Clear To Me That I Was One. And I Began To Understand The Importance Of That To People. Young Girls Need To See Role Models In Whatever Careers They May Choose, Just So They Can Picture Themselves Doing Those Jobs Someday. You Can't Be What You Can't See.

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.

It Takes A Few Years To Prepare For A Space Mission.

It's Too Bad Our Society Isn't Further Along.

On A Standard Space Shuttle Crew, Two Of The Astronauts Have A Test Pilot Background - The Commander And The Pilot.