DENVER - These days, Steve Swanson can't live too far away from Houston, Texas. But he'll always remember his roots and the inspiration they provided him toward becoming an astronaut.
"I grew up in the mountains of [Steamboat Springs] Colorado, I used to love exploring. And now I still do it, I just get paid for it," Swanson, a NASA astronaut, said.
Not only does Swanson get paid to explore, he boldly goes where many people have never gone before. Swanson has made two visits into space, once in 2007 and again in 2009. Both times, Swanson visited the International Space Station, where teams did construction of the space station.
NASA is celebrating 10 years of human habitation aboard the International Space Station, which has helped rewrite science books and taught us so much about our planet and galaxy.
"It's a fantastic place," Swanson said. "It makes everything fun, floating around. But one of the things I always say is, 'I think of it as being a kid who's found the best playground you've ever been to.' It's like Disney World and it's all to yourself."
Swanson acknowledges the retirement of the shuttle program is bittersweet, citing the vehicle's contributions to building the space station and exploring the Earth's orbit. However, the next generation of space vehicles will allow astronauts to head out of lower orbit, which holds exciting promises.
In three years, Swanson will head up to the ISS for six months. He begins his training program this summer.
"We just get the chance to go into space and explore, and that's something inherent in human nature"
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