Astronaut Quote by Robert Crippen

It took me a long time to get selected as an astronaut. In fact, I applied for 20 years before I was selected.

— John L. Phillips

I was a naval officer and aviator. I tested airplanes and got selected to be an astronaut later on.

— Jim Lovell

I ran the astronaut school for six years, and I was the commandant and when I finished in '65, 26 of my guys went…

— Chuck Yeager

I got a hold of NASA, four times, I said, 'I want to become an astronaut.' But nobody would take me. I didn't think…

— Wally Funk

I didn't really decide that I wanted to be an astronaut for sure until the end of college.

— Sally Ride

Joining NASA was very exciting, but it was the hardest decision I have had to make in my life.

— Kathleen Rubins

Growing up in the shadow of Johnson Space Center and moving to Texas to welcome our last moon mission home, I wanted to be…

— Pete Olson

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

— John L. Phillips

I always wanted to be an astronaut.

— Dennis Quaid

I was a graduate student in 1984 when President Ronald Reagan called for the construction of a new space station. I knew then that…

— Leroy Chiao

Becoming an astronaut was a little bit of happenstance for me.

— Sunita Williams

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

— Mae Jemison