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Duane G. Carey [1957-0] American

Rank: 102
Astronaut

Duane Gene "Digger" Carey is a retired lieutenant colonel in the United States Air Force and a former NASA astronaut.

Science, Space, Chance, Travel

Quote	Tags	Rank
And, actually it was interesting because I had done a lot of traveling in the United States and Canada and Mexico on my motorcycle; and I was really, it was the first time I had really gotten out of the Minnesota area to speak of.		101
And, obviously as a, as one who likes to travel around myself a lot, I think the Earth is a beautiful place. And, I'm looking forward to some new perspectives.	Travel	102
So, we have to get up and get pumped up for each day.		103
One of the jokes on our flight is that, if we have a normal entry day going, the plan is for me... to actually take the orbiter first and fly it for maybe 10 or 15 seconds and then hand it on over to Scooter.		104
And, I was really impressed with how beautiful our country was and how friendly the people were.		105
Rendezvous day is the third day of our mission, and that's a big day for us.		106
You know, Scooter's going to do the first separation burn; I'm going to do the second separation burn.		107
I'm looking forward to coming back, back to Earth, the landing, the views.	Space	108
That's what Hubble can do for us. It can tell us whether the universe is expanding forever or if one day it's going to come back together.	Science	109
So, whenever Scooter was the Pilot, he never had a chance to fly the orbiter. So, the joke is: I'm going to have a chance to fly it first and hand it over to him.	Chance	110
You know, piloting really isn't my hobby. And, it's probably not something I'd do in my spare time if I could do whatever I wanted to do. But, I'll tell you: if you've got to make a living, it's a great way to make a living!		111
Well, for me it really wasn't a case of deciding to be an astronaut.		112
I had, before I went to college, I had taken a few years off after high school and really had, I guess in those days, I had no intentions of going to college.		113
And, one thing I definitely enjoyed personally, from a selfish point of view, was exploration and going to places that I had never been to before and learning, you know, meeting the people and getting to know, new sights and sounds, etc.		114
So, I decided that whatever I was, wanted to do with my life, it would have to do, it would have to have something to do with the exploration and doing new things.		115
I consider myself to be very fortunate in my career, my timing has worked out.		116
I worked for some very good people who have helped me along the way and actually enabled me to have the opportunity to be selected to join the Astronaut Corps.		117
And, so I set my goals on astronaut because, as a military aviator, it was, I considered that to be about the peak of a flying career.		118
I could do exploration in this particular career field, and it was a goal that, even if I didn't reach it, it was so high it seemed almost impossible, but even if I didn't reach it, I would still have a good time and a very satisfying career.		119
And, that's what I truly believe that we're doing when we're advancing scientific knowledge is we're someday making the world better. Not only for our children, but for all people after that.	Science	120
Being in space, I'm really looking forward to working with this team of folks that I'm with.		121
There's been a tremendous amount of work that's been done that you can't see in Columbia.		122
Those folks out in the space suits are going to be getting beat up.	Space	123
Now you're coming back to Earth, and things are getting more and more dynamic.		124
Now, I've never flown in space; but the folks who have say that on landing day, you know, you've just spent maybe a week and a half, sometimes two weeks in orbit and you're used to the things happening slowly in space.		125
And, all these things need to be coordinated; so we all need to work together, have timers going and everything so we're all coordinated and get this piece of orchestration done.		126
I see it as one of my jobs to make sure that, it sounds ridiculous, but to make sure the folks are eating, make sure folks are getting enough fluids, make sure folks are, you know, comfortable in the orbiter.		201
Because when we're in space, my job is primarily getting us there and getting us back.		202
And then, when I thought about joining the Air Force, flying seemed like a natural extension of the motorcycling experience. You're going faster, higher. You're operating a machine that's a lot more powerful than you are.		203
And, I wouldn't consider myself to be a natural pilot; I've had to work at it.		204

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