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Scott, what led you down a different road
after STS-118 to begin training for a ride

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to the space station in a Soyuz vehicle and
training to become a space station Commander,

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and for Mark, why did you remain on
a shuttle path rather than follow

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in your brother's footsteps to go
for Soyuz and Russian training?

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Scott - My, you know, after STS-103 who, one
of the crew members on 103 was Mike Foale

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who was also at the time, you know,
doing double duties as a, you know,

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Associate Center Director, I think
was his title, and, you know,

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he thought I would be a good person to be the,

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what's called the Director
of Operations in Star City.

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So, you know, we talked about that
and I decided that maybe, you know,

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that'd be a good experience,
never, never intending to,

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to get on this space station
track as soon as I, I did.

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You know, I thought my career would be
flying a couple shuttle flights as a pilot

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and then a couple as the, the shuttle
Commander and then later flying,

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maybe flying a long duration flight.

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But then, you know, after I was the DOR,
Director of Operations in Star City for,

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I don't know, about nine months, soon after I
got back I thought I was going to, you know,

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get assigned as a, a pilot again
but for whatever reason the Chief

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of the Astronaut Office decided to ask me to
be a backup, for Expedition 5 and the plan was

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for me not to fly as a prime but just be the
backup and, he said he would then assign me

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as the Commander of a, of a shuttle flight
and then the Commander of the space station.

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Actually wound up, you know, being true, you
know, what, he said was the, the plan for me,

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but it just, because of the Columbia
accident obviously took much longer,

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but it wasn't really something I was
particularly interested in at the time.

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I would have rather flown the two pilot flights
and two commander flights but being just the,

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you know, military type of guy I am I
couldn't say no and I said, "Well, you know,

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if that's what you want me to do, you
know, that's, that's what I'll do."

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Mark - So, Rob, you ask that question
like we, we have a lot of control

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over this and we actually really don't.

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I mean, it's not you, you go into the office
and you say, "Hey, I want to this flight

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and then I want to be on this one."

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It's really, you know, the, the, the Chief of
the Astronaut Office, Peggy Whitson now, I mean,

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she makes the decisions of, you know, who is on
which flight and it's, to a large extent it's,

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it's really out, out of, out of your control.

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You know, my case, I've been fortunate enough
to fly, you know, three shuttle flights so far

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and this flight which I think'll wind up being
the last flight of space shuttle Endeavour

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and it's been a, you know, certainly a great
opportunity and a privilege to get to do that.

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Scott, how different is it
going to be when you strap

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into a Soyuz vehicle knowing you're basically
a passenger in the right seat heading uphill

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with your knees up in your
throat, very tight capsule,

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Mercury-style basically,
Gemini maybe at, at the most?

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What do you think that's
going to be like in contrast?

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Scott - Well, I'll certainly have a lot less
to do than, you know, during that time in the,

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in the Soyuz than on a, on a shuttle
ascent or entry for that matter.

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You know, as the Flight Engineer Number
2 you're sort of, you know, a passenger.

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You do have some responsibilities
but you're, you know,

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it's kind of like being somewhere between, you
know, Mission Specialist Number 1 on the shuttle

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and sitting on the mid-deck, your role.

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So, you know, in, in that
regard it will be different.

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It's kind of neat that it's, you know, a rocket
like a, you know, like a traditional rocket,

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so it'll be good to have that, that experience
especially as we move, you know, move on to a,

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you know, a new vehicle after,
after the space shuttle program.

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Mark, you're going to be traveling
to the Baikonur Cosmodrome

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in Kazakhstan to watch your brother's launch.

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What do you think that's
going to be like for you?

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Mark - Well, I've been to Russia once and it
was a long time so I'm lookin' forward to that.

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I'm actually taking Russian
classes right now to see

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if I can get a little bit of Russian language...

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Scott - I thought you quit?

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Mark - ability.

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I kind of quit.

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I quit last week but, you know, I
was, I, I did, I did a couple months.

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You know, for me it's really a great opportunity
to not only see, you know, another space launch

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with people on board but to see my
brother climbing into the Soyuz and,

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you know, launching from another country.

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I mean, that's, it's going to be amazing.

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I think at least one of my parents are going to
be there, one of our parents, a lot of friends,

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some of the family members so it's really
something I'm really looking forward to.

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And for you, Scott, knowing that your brother's
there, not necessarily next to you but certainly

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in spirit, how's that going to be from
a support standpoint mentally for you?

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Scott - Oh, it'll be great and, you know, I'll
have friends and other family members there.

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He's going to be one of the family escorts.

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Hopefully at least one of
my kids'll be there and,

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so it'll be good that he's there,
you know, with my daughter.

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Mark - And then if something happens to
him, just like accidentally, you know,