I spent a lot of my time working in the American module, and he would stay in the Russian segment working on his things, and we'd meet up at meal times. So it actually worked out very well.
Being an astronaut, there are not a lot of things that have really shocked me in my life.
Now, as an astronaut, I have to bring a Sharpie with me everywhere - so I have a pen to sign autographs.
I didn't really realize that writing... would be fun and people would pay you to do it. Being an astronaut is a glory profession, and so is writing, in a way.
I think the astronaut job is the best job in the world. I realized when I was older and started applying for it that it's a pretty cool job.
Becoming an astronaut was a little bit of happenstance for me.
I thought the attractions of being an astronaut were actually, not so much the Moon, but flying in a completely new medium.
As an astronaut, when you're getting ready to go out of that hatch, you know that's the pinnacle of both your career and your life. The view completely blows you away. The real challenge is getting past the excitement and getting focused and down to work.
It's a combination of science, maintenance, and general housekeeping. And then, occasionally, robotics activities or a spacewalk you might get to do.
I love working at NASA, but the part that has been the most satisfying on a day-to-day basis, hour-to-hour, minute-to-minute, has been working on board the space station. Even if I'm just cleaning the vents in the fans, it all is important.
And, so I set my goals on astronaut because, as a military aviator, it was, I considered that to be about the peak of a flying career.
Is there any other job that beats being an astronaut? Who didn't want to be an astronaut? That is my question.
