--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I've been on 26 space missions; they…" description: "\"I've been on 26 space missions; they range from suborbital to orbital to shuttle experiments to planetary missions.\" — Alan Stern" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee5/alan-stern-5283_been_i-ve-been-on-26-space-missions-they-rang_2673703.jpg" --- # I've been on 26 space missions; they range from suborbital… ![“I've been on 26 space missions; they range from suborbital to orbital to shuttle experiments to planetary missions.” quote by Alan Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee5/alan-stern-5283_been_i-ve-been-on-26-space-missions-they-rang_2673703.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee5/alan-stern-5283_been_i-ve-been-on-26-space-missions-they-rang_2673703.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee5/alan-stern-5283_been_i-ve-been-on-26-space-missions-they-rang_2673703.jpg) > “I've been on 26 space missions; they range from suborbital to orbital to shuttle experiments to planetary missions.” [Alan Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He has extensive experience across a spectrum of space missions, from short flights to deep‑space exploration. **In simple terms:** He’s done many types of space missions. Key Takeaway Leverage diverse mission experience for broader insight. Themes space exploration career breadth experience Mood enthusiastic informative Type motivational technical When to use this quote - education - public speaking - policy making - inspiration Key Concepts aerospace mission planning Questions to Reflect On - What lessons from suborbital flights apply to planetary missions? - How can varied mission experience shape future programs? A Different Perspective Experience may not translate to all mission types. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [26 Space](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/26-space-2523411/) [Been](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/been/) [Experiments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experiments/) [Experiments Planetary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experiments-planetary-2523410/) [Goals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goals/) [Planetary Missions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/planetary-missions-2523408/) [Range](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/range/) [Shuttle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shuttle/) [Shuttle Experiments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shuttle-experiments-2523409/) [Space](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/space/) [Space Missions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/space-missions-794823/) ## Related quotes > [As a scientist in charge of space sensors and entire space missions before I was at NASA, I myself was involved in projects that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/as-a-scientist-in-charge-of-space-sensors-and-entire-space-missions/) [Alan Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/) > [Planetary missions are great, but they're usually only brief snapshots of those planets and also really very close-up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heidi-hammel/planetary-missions-are-great-but-they-re-usually-only-brief-snapshots/) [Heidi Hammel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heidi-hammel/) > [Since Yuri Gagarin and Al Shepard's epoch flights in 1961, all space missions have been flown only under large, expensive government efforts. By contrast,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/burt-rutan/since-yuri-gagarin-and-al-shepard-s-epoch-flights-in-1961-all-space/) [Burt Rutan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/burt-rutan/) > [The reason space missions need artificial gravity is clear: humans simply did not evolve to live in zero gravity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-weir/the-reason-space-missions-need-artificial-gravity-is-clear-humans/) [Andy Weir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-weir/) > [The nature of the shuttle was, we couldn't put a crew escape system in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-crippen/the-nature-of-the-shuttle-was-we-couldn-t-put-a-crew-escape-system-in/) [Robert Crippen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-crippen/) > [Manned spaceflight has lost its glamour - understandably so, because it hardly seems inspiring, 40 years after Apollo, for astronauts merely to circle the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-rees/manned-spaceflight-has-lost-its-glamour-understandably-so-because-it/) [Martin Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-rees/) > [The Space Shuttle is the most effective device known to man for destroying dollar bills.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-rohrabacher/the-space-shuttle-is-the-most-effective-device-known-to-man-for/) [Dana Rohrabacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-rohrabacher/) > [“The shuttle would announce its arrival with the trademark double sonic boom-- Boom, BOOM!!-- and shortly thereafter you could see the bright silvery craft…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-d-wright/the-shuttle-would-announce-its-arrival-with-the-trademark-double/) [James D. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-d-wright/) > [When I was in high school we had the first shuttle launch, and it reinvigorated my enthusiasm for the space program. I was in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-walker/when-i-was-in-high-school-we-had-the-first-shuttle-launch-and-it/) [Shannon Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-walker/) > [Get on my level, you're gonna need a space shuttle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/get-on-my-level-you-re-gonna-need-a-space-shuttle/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I used to let the olde english 8- suds bubble in the last car of the Franklin Avenue shuttle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krs-one/i-used-to-let-the-olde-english-8-suds-bubble-in-the-last-car-of-the/) [KRS-One](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krs-one/) > [“And I want to say something to the schoolchildren of America who were watching the live coverage of the shuttle's takeoff. I know it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/and-i-want-to-say-something-to-the-schoolchildren-of-america-who-were/) [Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/) > [After the Shuttle checks out on its two upcoming flights, it will be ready to take larger components up to the International Space Station…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-garneau/after-the-shuttle-checks-out-on-its-two-upcoming-flights-it-will-be/) [Marc Garneau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-garneau/) > [“The money that could have saved the Shuttle, and the money we send to random countries, that we use to remake unchangeable countries ten…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/the-money-that-could-have-saved-the-shuttle-and-the-money-we-send-to/) [Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/) > [Get the shuttle out of the garage. It's in its prime of its life. How could we just put it away?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/get-the-shuttle-out-of-the-garage-it-s-in-its-prime-of-its-life-how/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Alan Stern > [Competition-driven innovation and price pressure that commercial practices foster can only make human spaceflight ever more common and U.S. leadership in this domain ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/competition-driven-innovation-and-price-pressure-that-commercial/) [Alan Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/) > [Of course Pluto is a planet: It's massive enough to have its shape controlled by gravity rather than material strength, which is the hallmark…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/of-course-pluto-is-a-planet-it-s-massive-enough-to-have-its-shape/) [Alan Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/) > [It used to be said that Pluto is a misfit. But now we know Earth is the misfit. This is the most populous class…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/it-used-to-be-said-that-pluto-is-a-misfit-but-now-we-know-earth-is/) [Alan Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/) > [The Kuiper belt region, which I call the third zone because it lies beyond the rocky terrestrial planets and beyond the giant planets, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/the-kuiper-belt-region-which-i-call-the-third-zone-because-it-lies/) [Alan Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/) > [I think if you were between maybe 6 and 16, there was nothing like Apollo, and I wonder if there can be something like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/i-think-if-you-were-between-maybe-6-and-16-there-was-nothing-like/) [Alan Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/) > [If you put Earth out beyond Neptune, you wouldn't be able to call it a planet because it couldn't clear its zone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/if-you-put-earth-out-beyond-neptune-you-wouldn-t-be-able-to-call-it-a/) [Alan Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/) > [Why would you listen to an astronomer about a planet?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/why-would-you-listen-to-an-astronomer-about-a-planet/) [Alan Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/) > [When we first sent missions to Jupiter, no one expected to find moons that would have active volcanoes. And I could go down a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/when-we-first-sent-missions-to-jupiter-no-one-expected-to-find-moons/) [Alan Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/) > [Pluto is still active four and a half billion years into its history. It was expected that small planets like Pluto would cool off…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/pluto-is-still-active-four-and-a-half-billion-years-into-its-history/) [Alan Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/) > [The Kuiper Belt is the largest mapped structure in our planetary system, three times as big as all the territory from the sun out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/the-kuiper-belt-is-the-largest-mapped-structure-in-our-planetary/) [Alan Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/) > [If two billion people wanted to watch a robot fly by Pluto, imagine what it will be like when the first humans step on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/if-two-billion-people-wanted-to-watch-a-robot-fly-by-pluto-imagine/) [Alan Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/) > [To keep everyone invested in your vision, you have to back up a little bit and really analyze who the different stakeholders are and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/to-keep-everyone-invested-in-your-vision-you-have-to-back-up-a-little/) [Alan Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/) > [We're going to find Marses and maybe Earths out in the solar system's attic of the Oort Cloud and the Kuiper Belt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/we-re-going-to-find-marses-and-maybe-earths-out-in-the-solar-system-s/) [Alan Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/) > [One of the implications of the discovery of the Kuiper Belt and its many small planets is that many scientists now think of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/one-of-the-implications-of-the-discovery-of-the-kuiper-belt-and-its/) [Alan Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/) > [CASIS has to succeed because for it not to succeed would be a huge setback for the International Space Station program.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/casis-has-to-succeed-because-for-it-not-to-succeed-would-be-a-huge/) [Alan Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/) [Explore all 102 Alan Stern quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/) ## More Been quotes > [When I was trying to come up with a stage name, I thought 'Lord' was super rad, but really masculine - ever since I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorde/when-i-was-trying-to-come-up-with-a-stage-name-i-thought-lord-was/) [Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorde/) > [I once told someone I could act. They totally bought it. I've been getting away with it ever since.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akshay-kumar/i-once-told-someone-i-could-act-they-totally-bought-it-i-ve-been/) [Akshay Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akshay-kumar/) > [Amongst the financial Twitterati, the term 'muppets' has come to describe any client used and abused by some financial predator. I've adopted the term…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-ritholtz/amongst-the-financial-twitterati-the-term-muppets-has-come-to/) [Barry Ritholtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-ritholtz/) > [Here's the reality. The image of a white Jesus has been used to justify enslavement, conquest, colonialism, the genocide of indigenous peoples. There are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wise/here-s-the-reality-the-image-of-a-white-jesus-has-been-used-to/) [Tim Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wise/) > [I would have done well as a gypsy child, I think. A circus baby. I coulda played a great street urchin or ragamuffin. Or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-lyonne/i-would-have-done-well-as-a-gypsy-child-i-think-a-circus-baby-i/) [Natasha Lyonne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasha-lyonne/) > [A lot of people have been saying 'The 100' reminds them of 'Lord Of The Flies,' 'Lost' and 'Battlestar Galactica,' and all of those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-avgeropoulos/a-lot-of-people-have-been-saying-the-100-reminds-them-of-lord-of-the/) [Marie Avgeropoulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-avgeropoulos/) > [I'm a character actor - always have been, always will be - and historically, character actors don't come into their own until later in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-potts/i-m-a-character-actor-always-have-been-always-will-be-and/) [Annie Potts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-potts/) > [Well, I've been politically involved for a really long time. Growing up in the segregated South, it was a very painful experience for me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cybill-shepherd/well-i-ve-been-politically-involved-for-a-really-long-time-growing-up/) [Cybill Shepherd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cybill-shepherd/) > [I've seen guys come along with more ability - they've been faster or bigger or stronger - but they never worked hard to develop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-largent/i-ve-seen-guys-come-along-with-more-ability-they-ve-been-faster-or/) [Steve Largent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-largent/) > [I have always been a big meta guy because I think the way journalism is practiced in Washington, and the way everyone sort of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-leibovich/i-have-always-been-a-big-meta-guy-because-i-think-the-way-journalism/) [Mark Leibovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-leibovich/) > [Windmills and solar cells are carbon-free sources of electricity. But they are costly. If you've been investing in those, give it up. That game…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-fisher/windmills-and-solar-cells-are-carbon-free-sources-of-electricity-but/) [Kenneth Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-fisher/) > [Once I committed to acting, this has been it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernie-hudson/once-i-committed-to-acting-this-has-been-it/) [Ernie Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernie-hudson/) > [I have never been in, nor have I had any strong particular desire to be in, what is termed a costume drama, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-freeman/i-have-never-been-in-nor-have-i-had-any-strong-particular-desire-to/) [Martin Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-freeman/) > [There has always been a feeling with people that they love my singing but not always the choice of material.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-moyet/there-has-always-been-a-feeling-with-people-that-they-love-my-singing/) [Alison Moyet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-moyet/) > [I've always been a believer in research. It's great to have an instinctual human reaction to a character, too, of course, but it has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chiwetel-ejiofor/i-ve-always-been-a-believer-in-research-it-s-great-to-have-an/) [Chiwetel Ejiofor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chiwetel-ejiofor/) [Browse all 13,699 Been quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/been/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I've been on 26 space missions; they range from suborbital to orbital to shuttle experiments to planetary missions.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alan Stern" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/i-ve-been-on-26-space-missions-they-range-from-suborbital-to-orbital/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Been" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/i-ve-been-on-26-space-missions-they-range-from-suborbital-to-orbital/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee5/alan-stern-5283_been_i-ve-been-on-26-space-missions-they-rang_2673703.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee5/alan-stern-5283_been_i-ve-been-on-26-space-missions-they-rang_2673703.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee5/alan-stern-5283_been_i-ve-been-on-26-space-missions-they-rang_2673703.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I've been on 26 space missions; they range from suborbital to orbital to shuttle experiments to planetary…” — Alan Stern", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Alan Stern", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I've been on 26 space missions;...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/i-ve-been-on-26-space-missions-they-range-from-suborbital-to-orbital/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/i-ve-been-on-26-space-missions-they-range-from-suborbital-to-orbital/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```