." From my earliest childhood, flight had actually always astounded me. I lived out in the boonies and also the fields, so I failed to have next-door neighbors to go and have fun with. If I wasn't functioning, I was left to my own gadgets, and often, I would merely be actually astounded due to the wild animals and particularly, the raptorial birds that I would view." To me, they exemplified a flexibility of some kind or even one more. These birds and also the viewpoint they possess-- they may absorb a great deal. So, coming from that factor on, I recognized I desired to be actually associated with flight as well as aviation." I [appreciated] all things tour, all factors spaceflight. I couldn't receive enough of it. I ended up being a passionate viewers, whereas before, I had not been a lot of a reader. I couldn't receive enough component to read about my heroes from trip and area. They became my role models as well as the road that they took entailed, eventually or even another, a quite rigorous learning and also commitment to perform well academically, actually, or athletically. Therefore, I threw on my own into that whole type of state of mind." When I was actually working for the Air Force, I managed to fly as well as work with aircraft that I would certainly dream around, checking out in the magazines Air travel Full week as well as Space Technology. Here they are actually, appropriate facing me." ... Therefore, my occupation has been as close as feasible to that of a flight examination engineer. And afterwards, directly on the heels of being spellbinded through climatic flight, functioning in individual spaceflight has put me over the Moon.".-- Dr. Donald Mendoza, Chief Developer, NASA Design & Safety And Security Center, NASA's Ames Proving ground.Photo Credit Score: NASA/Dominic HartInterviewer: NASA/Thalia Patrinos.Look into a number of our various other Images of NASA.