Astronaut Quote by Leroy Chiao

“I was a graduate student in 1984 when President Ronald Reagan called for the construction of a new space station. I knew then that I wanted to apply for the astronaut program, and this was an exciting development.” quote by Leroy Chiao — Download Open image

“I was a graduate student in 1984 when President Ronald Reagan called for the construction of a new space station. I knew then that I wanted to apply for the astronaut program, and this was an exciting development.”

Leroy Chiao

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Astronaut Construction Graduate student New President ronald reagan Space

More by Leroy Chiao

If you increase the number of rockets you build and you buy, then it's the scale of the economy, the price is going to come down. It may not come down in order of magnitude, but if several commercial ventures start being successful and there becomes a bigger market for these rockets, the price will naturally come down a bit.…

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I'm skeptical of claims that we've been visited by aliens from another planet or other dimension, but I don't rule it out 100 percent.…

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On the mission I brought a flag from China, I brought the stone sculpture from Hong Kong, and I brought a scroll from Taiwan. And what I wanted to do is, because as I was going up and I am this Chinese-American, I wanted to represent Chinese people from the major population centers around the world where there are a…

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One day, people will be able to buy tickets to visit space.

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I think it's good to have competition. Now we have a third country that can launch astronauts, so it's good for all of us.…

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I remember getting advice like, "Oh, do what interests you. Don't worry about tomorrow, live for today," kind of thing. And to a degree, you've got to do that, you've got to follow your passions. You've got to follow your dreams, but you also have to have a plan. You can't just say I'm going to do what interests me…

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When Russians were having troubles, the Space Shuttle supported the Space Station Mir bringing up much needed supplies and replacements, critical spares, really. That…

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Tinkering is something we need to know how to do in order to keep something like the space station running. I am a tinkerer…

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We were trying to do as much science as we could because that was the main purpose of the international space station. But without the shuttle to bring up heavy laboratory equipment and bring back samples, we were limited by what we could do, but I was proud that we actually accomplished more science that was planned for the flight.…

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The space station mission was kind of the culmination of all of my experience of being a NASA Astronaut, so it had brought all of my previous experience into play. I had to learn the Russian language to a fluent level so that I could function as the co-pilot of the Soyuz Spacecraft that we flew up and back from…

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The expense of getting into space is the rocket launch, the rocket itself. Rocket's right now, commercial rockets cost probably somewhere between $50, or $120, or $150 million per launch. And those are all expendable. That is, you've got to buy a new rocket for each launch. So, that really is the critical part. If there was some kind of…

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If we're not able to launch our own people and operate our own spacecraft anymore then, you know, space - whether it should be or not, it's seen as like a harbinger of technology. If you can fly people into space, if you can operate into space, then you've got high technology and if you're the leader of that, then…

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I stayed in the astronaut program until 1993. People ask me why I left. I thought I had a lot of things to contribute…

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Rugby has surprisingly helped me a lot as an astronaut and when I'm training in the space suit.

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As a former Apollo astronaut, I think it's safe to say that SpaceX and the other commercial developers embody the 21st century version of…

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My optimism and confidence come not from feeling I'm luckier than other mortals, and they sure don't come from visualizing victory. They're the result of a lifetime spent visualizing defeat and figuring out how to prevent it. Like most astronauts, I'm pretty sure that I can deal with what life throws at me because I've thought about what to do…

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As a kid, I knew I wanted to be either a cartoonist or an astronaut. The latter was never much of a possibility, as…

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I think it's good to have competition. Now we have a third country that can launch astronauts, so it's good for all of us.…

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I was told when I grew up I could be anything I wanted: a fireman, a policeman, a doctor – even President, it seemed. And for the first time in the history of mankind, something new, called an astronaut. But like so many kids brought up on a steady diet of Westerns, I always wanted to be the avenging cowboy…

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