Spaceflight Quotes

“I could have gone on for another three or four orbits, but it was a question of playing it safe.”

“The rocket will free man from his remaining chains, the chains of gravity which still tie him to this planet. It will open to him the gates of heaven.”

“The first mission is to get back.”

“This is a tough business, but it's a good business.”

“The biggest challenge is not the engineering and the rocket science, but it's the dealing with the human factors in long-duration spaceflight.”

“I have the best of all worlds. I'm seeing the most beautiful sights, both on the Earth and in the heavens.”

“It was a great ride up... It was a gorgeous launch.”

“Man, that was a ride.”

“Things were beginning to malfunction. The attitude control system was acting up, and the automatic pilot was not working.”

“It was a fabulous flight. It's a great feeling to be a pioneer in space.”

“John and I were certainly aware that there was a good chance we were not going to come back. But we were willing to take that risk.”

“It was a ride of a lifetime.”

“It was so much smoother than I ever expected. It was a very nice ride.”

“Poyekhali! (Let's go!)”

“The flight is proceeding normally. I feel fine.”

“Zero G and I feel fine.”

“After my last flight, I'm not sure that I want to be a passenger on a spaceship.”

“Uh, Houston, we've had a problem.”

“It's a very sobering feeling to be up in space and realize that one's safety factor was determined by the lowest bidder on a government contract.”

“You are constantly aware of the fact that you're in a tin can, and if something goes wrong, you're dead.”