“No way that any astronaut worth his salt volunteered for the space program to become a hero. You don’t select astronauts who want fame and fortune. You select them because they’re the best test pilots in the world, they know it, and it’s a personal challenge for them. And the astronauts of today are exactly the same. ” – Astronaut Alan B. Shepard of Freedom 7 (Project Mercury) and Apollo 14 fame. His experience at the first American in space is described in Tom Wolfe’s bestselling book, The Right Stuff.