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I've been lucky enough to fly to space twice.

It's a pity I flew only once. A space flight is like a drug - once you experience it, you can't think of anything else.

Now, I've never flown in space; but the folks who have say that on landing day, you know, you've just spent maybe a week and a half, sometimes two weeks in orbit and you're used to the things happening slowly in space.

I've put a lot of my life into making it possible to fly in space at all.

I believe in the importance of flying in space and the research that we do.

They forbade me from flying, despite all my protests and arguments. After being once in space, I was desperately keen to go back there. But it didn't happen.

During my 8 years as chairman, I had the privilege to peer into the future to see dynamic citizen astronauts returning to and from the heavens which we can expect in the future.

Having the benefit to our society, not only here in the United States but throughout the world with the amount of invention you get from having a space program, is well worth the risk that an individual like myself has to take by flying in the vehicle.

Everyone who's been in space would, I'm sure, welcome the opportunity for a return to the exhilarating experiences there.

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