." From my earliest youth, air travel had actually regularly astounded me. I lived out in the boonies and the fields, so I really did not have next-door neighbors to go as well as play with. If I had not been operating, I was delegated to my very own devices, and typically, I would only be captivated by the wild animals and also specifically, the raptors that I would observe." To me, they stood for a flexibility of some kind or another. These birds and the sight they have-- they can take in a lot. So, from that factor on, I understood I wanted to be actually associated with air travel as well as air travel." I [appreciated] all points trip, all things spaceflight. I couldn't obtain sufficient of it. I ended up being a passionate reader, whereas before, I had not been a lot of a reader. I could not obtain enough product to review my heroes from flight and also space. They became my shining example as well as the course that they took included, eventually or even one more, a fairly strenuous education as well as commitment to carry out effectively academically, actually, or athletically. Therefore, I tossed myself right into that whole form of attitude." When I was working for the Air Force, I had the ability to fly and deal with plane that I will hope about, taking a look at in the publications Aeronautics Full week and also Area Innovation. Here they are, right in front of me." ... Therefore, my job has been as close as achievable to that of a flight examination designer. And afterwards, right on the heels of being actually spellbinded by atmospheric tour, working in individual spaceflight has put me over the Moon.".-- Dr. Donald Mendoza, Chief Engineer, NASA Design & Safety Center, NASA's Ames Proving ground.Photo Credit Report: NASA/Dominic HartInterviewer: NASA/Thalia Patrinos.Visit several of our other Faces of NASA.