"Research is what I'm doing when I don't know what I'm doing."

"There is just one thing I can promise you about the outer-space program - your tax-dollar will go further."

"I have learned to use the word "impossible" with the greatest caution."

"We can lick gravity, but sometimes the paperwork is overwhelming."

"It will free man from the remaining chains, the chains of gravity which still tie him to this planet."

"For my confirmation, I didn't get a watch and my first pair of long pants, like most Lutheran boys. I got a telescope. My mother thought it would make the best gift."