To me, that is one of the most important principles of life: Never leave your friends behind. - Buzz Aldrin

My father, Edwin Eugene Aldrin, was an engineer and an aviation pioneer — and a friend of Charles Lindbergh and Orville Wright.

Nevertheless, I was convinced that I could be selected as an astronaut. Ed White had been accepted, and we had flown together in the Air Force during the cold war between the Soviet Union and the United States. I knew Ed was a good fighter pilot, and I was, too. “I can shoot gunnery as well as if not better than Ed can,” I said. “I’m going to apply to be an astronaut.

but perhaps the key to any success in life is to be ready when the opportunity comes along.