Space Travel Quotes

"God has no intention of setting a limit to the efforts of man to conquer space."

- Pope Pius XII

"To be the first to enter the cosmos, to engage, single-handed, in an unprecedented duel with nature—could one dream of anything more?"

- Yuri Gagarin, Russian Cosmonaut

"When I orbited the Earth in a spaceship, I saw for the first time how beautiful our planet is. Mankind, let us preserve and increase this beauty, and not destroy it!"

- Yuri Gagarin, Russian Cosmonaut

"It [the rocket] will free man from his remaining chains, the chains of gravity which still tie him to this planet. It will open to him the gates of heaven."

- Wernher von Braun, Rocket Engineer

"Our two greatest problems are gravity and paperwork. We can lick gravity, but sometimes the paperwork is overwhelming."

- Wernher von Braun, Rocket Engineer

"Don't tell me that man doesn't belong out there. Man belongs wherever he wants to go - and he'll do plenty well when he gets there."

- Wernher von Braun, Rocket Engineer

"I don't think the human race will survive the next thousand years, unless we spread into space. There are too many accidents that can befall life on a single planet. But I'm an optimist. We will reach out to the stars."

- Stephen Hawking, Astrophysicist

"Man is an artifact designed for space travel. He is not designed to remain in his present biologic state any more than a tadpole is designed to remain a tadpole."

- William Burroughs, Author

"Space travel is life-enhancing, and anything that's life-enhancing is worth doing. It makes you want to live forever."

- Ray Bradbury, Science Fiction Author

"Life, forever dying to be born afresh, forever young and eager, will presently stand upon this Earth as upon a footstool, and stretch out its realm amidst the stars."

- H. G. Wells, Science Fiction Author

"A sense of the unknown has always lured mankind and the greatest of the unknowns of today is outer space. The terrors, the joys and the sense of accomplishment are epitomized in the space program."

- William Shatner, Actor

"I don't know what you could say about a day in which you have seen four beautiful sunsets."

- John Glenn, Astronaut

"Anyone who sits on top of the largest hydrogen-oxygen fueled system in the world; knowing they're going to light the bottom—and doesn't get a little worried—does not fully understand the situation."

- John Young, Astronaut

"Through you, we feel as giants, once again."

- President Ronald Reagan, to the Crew
of the First Shuttle Mission

"I remember growing up thinking that astronauts and their job was the coolest thing you could possibly do... But I absolutely couldn't identify with the people who were astronauts. I thought they were movie stars."

- David M. Brown, Space Shuttle Astronaut

"Let's face it, space is a risky business. I always considered every launch a barely controlled explosion."

- Aaron Cohen, NASA Administrator

"Every generation has the obligation to free men's minds for a look at new worlds . . . to look out from a higher plateau than the last generation."

- Ellison S. Onizuka, Challenger Astronaut

"If offered a seat on a rocket ship, don't ask what seat. Just get on."

- Christa McAuliffe, Teacher
and Challenger Astronaut

"I cannot join the space program and restart my life as an astronaut, but this opportunity to connect my abilities as an educator with my interests in history and space is a unique opportunity to fulfill my early fantasies. I watched the space program being born, and I would like to participate."

- Christa McAuliffe, Teacher
and Challenger Astronaut

"This is a day we have managed to avoid for a quarter of a century. We've talked about it before and speculated about it, and it finally has occurred. We hoped we could push this day back forever."

- Astronaut John Glenn, Regarding
the Challenger Accident

"All of a sudden, space isn't friendly. All of a sudden, it's a place where people can die. . . . Many more people are going to die. But we can't explore space if the requirement is that there be no casualties; we can't do anything if the requirement is that there be no casualties."

- Isaac Asimov, Science Fiction Writer

"The thing I'll remember most about the flight is that it was fun. In fact, I'm sure it was the most fun that I'll ever have in my life."

- Sally K. Ride, First Woman to Orbit
Earth on the Space Shuttle

"Of course risk is part of spaceflight. We accept some of that to achieve greater goals in exploration and find out more about ourselves and the universe."

- Lisa Nowak, Space Shuttle Astronaut

"Some say that we should stop exploring space, that the cost in human lives is too great. But Columbia's crew would not have wanted that. We are a curious species, always wanting to know what is over the next hill, around the next corner, on the next island. And we have been that way for thousands of years."

- Stuart Atkinson, Writer

"Let’s light this fire one more time, Mike, and witness this great nation at its best."

- Christopher Ferguson, Commander of
the Final Space Shuttle Mission