Leslie Nielsen Quotes

From day one, I have been told I am no different from the male astronauts. As a pilot, I flew in the sky. Now that I am an astronaut, I will fly in space.

Then, much later, my next dream was to become an astronaut, and I was fortunate to realize that dream, also.

I wanted to be an astronaut when I was a kid. I grew up in Houston. Gordo Cooper was my favorite astronaut.

If my vision was good enough, I'd be an astronaut.

Two months after I got out of test pilot school, I saw an advert that said NASA was recruiting more astronauts. The best job you could have as a test pilot was being an astronaut, so I volunteered.

I saw this movie 'The Right Stuff' when I was in college, and it really rekindled my interest in being an astronaut. I started taking those steps, and then I realized it would be the chance of a lifetime. It would be a dream life: not just a job, but the whole life.

I thought the attractions of being an astronaut were actually, not so much the Moon, but flying in a completely new medium.

Fortunately, I got called down to NASA for an interview. And one thing led to the next, and one day I got that call. I've been here about seven years now and am really enjoying it.

Ever since I was a kid, I always wanted to be an astronaut.

I flew fighters for the Navy in San Diego for three years, went and did my post-graduate education, and then I was a test pilot in Patuxent River, Maryland, for a few years. I was back in the fleet in the Navy when I was selected to come back here to NASA to become an astronaut.

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.

It so happened that my goals kind of matched my career progression toward becoming an astronaut.

By my mid-30s, I just thought, 'This is not going to happen. I am never going to become an astronaut in the U.K.'

I can't think of anything specific growing up that pointed me toward NASA at all. I was interested in the Moon landings just about the same as everyone else of my generation. But I never really thought about being an astronaut or working in space myself.

Most kids probably dream of becoming an astronaut. I was just the one that never grew out of it.

I don't think you ever really decide that you want to be an astronaut. I put in an application and hoped for the best.

I never thought about it, really, that I am going to be the second generation of the space cosmonauts. I just want to do my job as best as is possible, and that's it, honestly.

When I went to Test Pilot School, that's when we came to Johnson Space Center. And I ended up seeing John Young and listening to him talk and getting a positive influence from him.

I first told my parents that I wanted to be an astronaut when I was 3 years old.

What guy didn't want to be an astronaut growing up?

I grew up in Spokane, Washington, and I can't recall ever not wanting to be an astronaut.

All astronauts, even civilians like me without pilot experience, have to learn how to co-pilot a jet called a T-38.

I thought that NASA didn't take biologists and so nothing would come of it. But I knew I would regret it if I did not apply.

Walking in space is absolutely the most exhilarating part of a mission. The view is just incredible.