." From my earliest childhood, air travel had consistently captivated me. I endured in the boonies and the fields, so I really did not have neighbors to go as well as play with. If I had not been operating, I was actually delegated to my personal tools, and also often, I would merely be spellbinded due to the animals as well as particularly, the raptorial birds that I would view." To me, they worked with a liberty of some kind or even yet another. These birds and the viewpoint they have-- they can consume a great deal. Therefore, coming from that aspect on, I understood I wished to be involved in flight and also aeronautics." I [delighted in] all things tour, all factors spaceflight. I could not get sufficient of it. I became a devoted visitor, whereas before, I had not been much of a viewers. I could not obtain enough component to check out my heroes coming from trip and room. They became my role models and the course that they took entailed, at some time or one more, a fairly thorough education and learning as well as devotion to doing effectively academically, actually, or even athletically. Thus, I threw on my own right into that entire kind of perspective." When I was actually working for the Flying force, I had the capacity to soar and service plane that I will hope approximately, checking out in the magazines Aviation Full week and Room Innovation. Here they are actually, right before me." ... Therefore, my occupation has actually been actually as close as achievable to that of a trip examination engineer. And after that, precisely the heels of being actually captivated through climatic flight, functioning in human spaceflight has put me over the Moon.".-- Doctor Donald Mendoza, Chief Designer, NASA Design & Safety And Security Center, NASA's Ames Proving ground.Picture Credit History: NASA/Dominic HartInterviewer: NASA/Thalia Patrinos.Visit a number of our various other Faces of NASA.