The Space Shuttle Is A Better And

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.

There's A Huge Amount Of Pressure On Every Astronaut, Because When You Get Right Down To It, The Experiments That Are Conducted On A Space Flight, Or The Satellites That Are Carried Up, The Work That's To Be Done, Is Important And Expensive Work, And You Are Up There For A Week Or Two On A Space Shuttle Flight. The Country Has Invested A Lot Of Money In You And Your Training, And The Space Shuttle And Everything That's In It, And You Have To Do Things Correctly. You Can't Make A Mistake During That Week Or Two That You're In Space.

My Parents Must Have Done A Great Job. Anytime I Wanted To Pursue Something That They Weren't Familiar With, That Was Not Part Of Their Lifestyle, They Let Me Go Ahead And Do It.

It Takes A Couple Of Years Just To Get The Background And Knowledge That You Need Before You Can Go Into Detailed Training For Your Mission.

I Think Eventually Private Enterprise Will Be Able To Send People Into Orbit, But I Suspect Initially It's Going To Have To Be With Nasa's Help.