After The Challenger Accident, Nasa

The Most Important Steps That I Followed Were Studying Math And Science In School. I Was Always Interested In Physics And Astronomy And Chemistry And I Continued To Study Those Subjects Through High School And College On Into Graduate School. That's What Prepared Me For Being An Astronaut; It Actually Gave Me The Qualifications To Be Selected To Be An Astronaut.

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.

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.

I Didn't Really Decide That I Wanted To Be An Astronaut For Sure Until The End Of College.

When You Can Feel That Close To Something You're Used To Seeing From This Great Distance, Well, It Changes A Person.