." From my earliest childhood years, flight had actually always astounded me. I lived out in the boonies and also the farmlands, so I didn't have neighbors to go as well as enjoy with. If I wasn't functioning, I was actually entrusted to my personal devices, and also typically, I would certainly only be mesmerized due to the wildlife as well as particularly, the predators that I would observe." To me, they represented a flexibility of some kind or an additional. These birds and the sight they possess-- they can easily absorb so much. Therefore, from that factor on, I understood I would like to be actually involved in air travel as well as flying." I [delighted in] all points air travel, all traits spaceflight. I couldn't receive sufficient of it. I came to be a serious audience, whereas before, I had not been much of a visitor. I couldn't obtain adequate product to check out my heroes from tour and space. They became my role models as well as the course that they took entailed, eventually or even another, a pretty strenuous education and learning and devotion to perform effectively academically, physically, or athletically. Thus, I tossed on my own right into that entire kind of mindset." When I was actually working with the Air Force, I was able to soar as well as work with airplane that I would certainly hope approximately, looking at in the magazines Air travel Full week as well as Room Innovation. Below they are, correct facing me." ... So, my occupation has actually been as close as possible to that of a trip test engineer. And after that, exactly on the heels of being captivated by atmospherical trip, operating in individual spaceflight has set me over the Moon.".-- Physician Donald Mendoza, Chief Developer, NASA Engineering & Safety Facility, NASA's Ames Proving ground.Photo Credit Report: NASA/Dominic HartInterviewer: NASA/Thalia Patrinos.Take a look at a number of our other Images of NASA.