Persistance - Never Give Up

By Bob Cabana, Director, Kennedy Space Center
NASA Astronaut, STS-41,53,65,88

As a young midshipman at the Naval Academy, I had the opportunity to tour the Kennedy Space Center and to see the launch of Apollo 13. The day before launch we were inside the Vehicle Assembly Building, and I can remember seeing the Saturn V rockets being stacked to go to the Moon. It was awe inspiring. Standing there, it was difficult to believe that I might one day have the opportunity to fly in space, let alone be the Director of the Kennedy Space Center. I just wanted to fly jets, and I couldn’t wait to graduate and get started.

Everyone needs dreams and goals to reach for. When I’m asked, “How do you become an astronaut?”, I reply, “Persistence—set a goal for yourself and never give up till you achieve it. Then move on toward a new goal. It is also important to do something you really enjoy, because if you enjoy it, you’re going to excel at it.”

Ever since I saw the Wright Flyer and the Spirit of St. Louis hanging from the ceiling of the Smithsonian when I was five years old, all I ever wanted to do was to fly airplanes. I read every book I could about the aces of World War II and Korea and the test pilots of the ‘50s and ‘60s. I spent hours at the Naval Air Station in Minneapolis watching the A-4Cs and P-2 Neptunes come and go. The Naval Academy seemed like the best way to reach my goal. I was the first alternate from the state of Minnesota, and when the principal candidate declined his appointment, I was on my way to Annapolis.

I chose a commission in the Marine Corps after graduation, and following the Basic School in Quantico, Virginia, I was headed to Pensacola for flight training. As a math major at the Naval Academy with a strong engineering background, I was well prepared for the ground school classes. Unfortunately, I failed my eye test, so I ended up going through Naval Flight Officer (NFO) training, eventually becoming an A-6 bombardier-navigator. I enjoyed it, but I still wanted to be a pilot. After three years as an NFO and passing numerous eye tests, I was able to get orders back to Pensacola for pilot flight training. I loved it! With 1,000 flight hours under my belt, I decided to tackle my next goal and apply for Navy Test Pilot School. I didn’t get picked up on the first try, but six months later I was off to Patuxent River, Maryland, for test pilot training. There I could use all the math and engineering that I loved, along with my flying skills. It was a dream come true. After test pilot training, I realized that I met all the requirements to apply to be an astronaut. I didn’t make it on the first try for that either, but I reapplied and was fortunate enough to make it on the second try.

As I set each successive goal, I was always doing something that I really enjoyed and was able to make valuable contributions at each step along the way.

So the moral of the story is this: Do something you really enjoy and excel at it, have intermediate goals to reach your long-term goal, and never give up. It’s amazing what you can accomplish when you put your mind to it and are persistent.