CASIS has to succeed because for it not to succeed would be a huge setback for the International Space Station program.

I think both the space shuttle program and the International Space Station program have not really lived up to their expectations.

A space station is a rangy monstrosity, a giant erector set built by a madman.

At this point I thought 'We made it,' by which I meant 'We survived.' I also was acutely aware that my childhood dream of flying into space had just come true.

When I did my spacewalks, it was during space station construction. So the shuttle was docked to the fledgling ISS at the time. So we would always stay tethered.

I lay on my back, surprised at how calm and focused I felt, strapped to four and a half million pounds of explosives.