It's a very sobering feeling to be up in space and realize that one's safety factor was determined by the lowest bidder on a government contract.
Tags: safety, space, feeling, government

Other Quotes by "Alan Shepard"

You know, being a test pilot isn't always the healthiest business in the world.
Tags: know, world, business, you
The rocket had worked perfectly, and all I had to do was survive the reentry forces. You do it all, in a flight like that, in a rather short period of time, just 16 minutes as a matter of fact.
Tags: like, matter, time, you
But when I was selected, after my very first tour of squadron duty, to become one of the youngest candidates for the test pilot school, I began to realize, maybe you are a little bit better.
Tags: pilot, better, school, you
I woke up an hour before I was supposed to, and started going over the mental checklist: where do I go from here, what do I do? I don't remember eating anything at all, just going through the physical, getting into the suit. We practiced that so much, it was all rote.
Tags: just, eating, remember, go
You've done it in the simulator so many times, you don't have a real sense of being excited when the flight is going on. You're excited before, but as soon as the liftoff occurs, you are busy doing what you have to do.
Tags: real, doing, busy, you
View More by "Alan Shepard"