Watching shuttle launch scarier than being part of it, says astronaut

Published: 2006-10-16

PHILADELPHIA (CNS) -- It is scarier to watch a space shuttle launch than it is to be part of one, according to Christopher Ferguson, who piloted the space shuttle Atlantis in September. "Sitting in the cockpit getting ready to launch is not the time to worry," he said. Ferguson, 45, a captain in the U.S. Navy, said that by the time astronauts are locked in the shuttle they're too busy to be scared. "When you're there, you're the one flipping the switches. You're the one responsible for making sure that things get done on time and correctly. You really put your fears behind you. If you're going to worry ... you worry about it before you launch," the Philadelphia native told The Catholic Standard & Times, Philadelphia's archdiocesan newspaper. He was one of at least three Catholics on the six-member shuttle crew who were on a 12-day mission to the International Space Station. The Atlantis crew returned to earth Sept. 21 after a journey of more than 4.9 million miles in space.

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