“I was lucky and got in, but I did not start out thinking that I wanted to be an astronaut. That was never in
my mind. I just wanted to be the best pilot I could be. I
tell kids all over the world when I talk to them, you pick
whatever it is you want to do, but be the best there is at
it when you do pick that, and you will find that at the end
of the road, doors will open for you that you never even
thought of.
“So, that’s what happened to me.”
RS: Speaking from your experience, what skill set would
be most beneficial to a student today to get them ready
for the astronaut corps?
WORDEN: “I don’t think there is any one thing that a student has to focus on. I think whatever they do, it has to
be in the sciences, in the STEM courses somewhere. But,
I think that when they are in those courses, that have
got to be outstanding. That’s the key to it. They have got
to put everything they have into it, and be at the top
of their class and be the best there ever was. They also
need to be in good physical shape.
“But, I would not tell any student that the astronaut
program should be their end goal. Whatever specialty
they are in, they have to be the best they can at that
and it might happen that NASA needs that specialty at
some point. I think it’s a tragic mistake for them to go into
it thinking they are going to study to be an astronaut,
because if they don’t make it, then they are going to be
disappointed. I think they have to be the best they can
at whatever they are. You cannot organize your entire
life to have one outcome, it just doesn’t work that way.”
Worden sits alone inside the Command Module mockup during training before the Apollo 15 mission. Credit: NASA via Retro Space Images
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