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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 can't think of anything that's as exciting as I'm sure this mission will be, and actually being in space. But, we did some training as a crew together.

Astronauts are very professional and when they're preparing for launch, they prepare for it as the most serious endeavor of our lives.

So most astronauts are astronauts for a couple of years before they are assigned to a flight.

NASA needs to focus on the things that are really important and that we do not know how to do. The agency is a pioneering force, and that is where its competitive advantage lies.

For NASA, space is still a high priority.

The first two missions have some test objectives, some new capabilities that we're going to try to develop on orbit to possibly be used on later flights.

If you're going to go into space, you have to have an objective, a mission. Where do you want to go? Earth orbit? The moon? Mars? What's the technology to get there? You develop the technology for the mission.

I study orbital dynamics as a hobby. My idea of a good time is sitting down and drawing on that knowledge to imagine a space mission from beginning to end, getting as many details right as I can.

There's going to be space travel at some point.