I lay on my back, surprised at how calm and focused I felt, strapped to four and a half million pounds of explosives.

Weightlessness was wonderful, and I was surprised at how natural it felt.

At this point I thought 'We made it,' by which I meant 'We survived.' I also was acutely aware that my childhood dream of flying into space had just come true.

Ideally, the ISS program will just be one more incremental step on an expanding, incredible journal of exploration and understanding, taking us higher and farther.

Earth is a small town with many neighborhoods in a very big universe.

And in that moment, I was hit with the realization that this delicate layer of atmosphere is all that protects every living thing on Earth from perishing in the harshness of space.