When you're getting ready to launch into space, you're sitting on a big explosion waiting to happen.

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Then during the mission itself, I used the space shuttle's robot arm to release a satellite into orbit.

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But even in elementary school and junior high, I was very interested in space and in the space program.

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Well, we spend an awful lot of our time working and doing experiments. It's very busy up on the shuttle.

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I liked math - that was my favorite subject - and I was very interested in astronomy and in physical science.

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On a standard space shuttle crew, two of the astronauts have a test pilot background - the commander and the pilot.

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I was always very interested in science, and I knew that for me, science was a better long-term career than tennis.

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My background is in physics, so I was the mission specialist, who is sort of like the flight engineer on an airplane.

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No, I think most astronauts recognize that the space shuttle program is very high-risk, and are prepared for accidents.

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We can see cities during the day and at night, and we can watch rivers dump sediment into the ocean, and see hurricanes form.

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