While flying a routine flight from Houston to St. Louis, aboard a T-38 Talon, two of my astronaut friends, Charlie Bassett—my backdoor neighbor—and Elliot See, were killed when their plane missed the runway in foggy weather and crashed.
Their tragic deaths pushed Jim Lovell and me ahead on the list of astronauts, first as the backup crew for Gemini 9, and then as a flight crew, ready to fly on Gemini 12. Although I had nothing to do with it, and was deeply distraught over the deaths of my friends, had it not been for the freak accident, I would not have flown during the Gemini program. But because I went into space on Gemini 12, and even did a long space walk, those events set me in line for Apollo, and an eventual landing on the Moon.
That’s one of the reasons why I have always tried to remind people that I was simply a guy who was in the right place at the right time. Yes, I had a great, supportive family, a strong work ethic, and wonderful friends. Yes, I studied incessantly, worked hard, and prepared in my areas of expertise, but perhaps the key to any success in life is to be ready when the opportunity comes along.
Sometimes if you think too long about something you want to do or some risk you want to take, you talk yourself out of it. On the other hand, if you muster your courage and just boldly step out and do it, you find that doors open for you that other people say are impossible to go through.
In 2010, President Barack Obama planned to speak at the Kennedy Space Center and make some announcements about the space program. I was in Washington, D.C., at the time, so I called Christina in California and said, “I want to get on Air Force One.” I knew that because of post-9/11 security precautions, it was quite difficult to hitch a ride with the president, even for an astronaut, but I had confidence that it would work out.
Actually, I had flown aboard Air Force One previously when Neil, Mike, and I traveled around the world on behalf of President Richard Nixon on the goodwill tour following our landing on the Moon. Because the president was not along with us, the White House referred to the plane as Air Force Two, rather than Air Force One, but it was definitely the president’s plane.
On another occasion, when I was at the Reagan Presidential Library in California for a book signing, Christina and I crashed a tour of his retired Air Force One. The tour guide didn’t notice us at first, but when I asked a question, the guide recognized me. After all the other folks left, the tour guide gave us a personal tour, allowing me to compare the Reagan plane with the Nixon edition that I knew.
So as much as I understood that it would take some special circumstances to fall into place for me to get on President Obama’s version of Air Force One, I refused to give up.
Christina continued checking every option, and I went from one government official to another, asking for permission to accompany the president. Our friends in the White House said, “Tell Buzz to get himself to Florida, and we’ll have special VIP access for him once he arrives at Kennedy Space Center.” I appreciated that, but that wasn’t what I wanted. I wanted to fly on Air Force One so I could have a chance to talk with the president about my Mars Cycler. We were going to the same place, after all. What was so hard about giving me a ride? Of course, I was aware of security concerns, but I wouldn’t take no for an answer, so I just kept talking to people who might be able to help.
Everyone in the White House told Christina and me, “You’re not getting on Air Force One.” But we continued to pursue every contact we had.
Finally, Christina received an email from her White House contact, saying, “Tell Buzz to meet the shuttle to Air Force One at the West Wing of the White House.” Peter Marquez, former White House director of space policy, was able to join me. We were transported from the White House to Andrews Air Force Base, and the official car drove us right to the enormous jet’s staircase.
A short time later, I called Christina—from the president’s jet—and said, “Hi, Christina, I’m on Air Force One.”
The plane