CHAPTER 2: MY COMMANDING OFFICERI STOOD WITH THE GROUP of future astronauts outside of the space center waiting for clearance. The director was coming out to welcome us all to NASA. I listened to the chatter around me. There were a few returning candidates and they were giving the rookies the lowdown.
“Yeah and Col. Shepard is a hard ass. He’s flown like two or three missions and he’s real strict. Nice guy but real stand-offish, you know? Doesn’t talk much to anyone.”
“I heard he’s a real doll,” another female candidate replied.
“Yeah, I heard he’s got real pretty eyes.”
“Wasn’t he injured in that shuttle crash about two years ago? You know the one where the landing gear malfunctioned?”
“Yeah, the other pilot died, right? Yeah I think it was about two years ago. People say he took it
