vladimir titov comes from russia. eileen collins hails from upstate new york. try and make...rrator: she is about to make her first space flight and become the first female shuttle pilot. this is the crew of s.t.s.-63, and what they learn from wilkinson helps keep them oriented to the geographic perspective. their main mission: the very first rendezvous with the russian spacecraft mir, already in orbit. but the astronauts also have another goal: to give the rest of us a new perspective on planet earth.

but i met sergei and vladimir titov, who was his backup. and we talked all night about our kids and what we wanted for the world. and yeah, is that idealistic? yes, it is. but is that, is that life? it, you, you bet it is. >> you"re watching "talk to al jazeera". up next, is the cost of space exploration worth it? charles bolden weighs in. >> "inside story" takes you beyond the headlines, beyond the quick cuts, beyond the sound bites. we're giving you a deeper dive into the stories that are making our world what it is. >> ray suarez hosts "inside story". weeknights, 11:30 eastern. on al jazeera america. >> you"re watching "talk to al jazeera". i'm ray suarez, speaking with charles bolden the administrator of nasa. >> throughout the years people have looked at the tremendous cost of doing space exploration and then looked at the problems on earth and said "boy, that would feed a lot of people". to those people who've heard the litany of basic science and breakthroughs that you've just mentioned, what would you close with to tell 'em "this is

but i met sergei and vladimir titov, who was his backup. and we talked all night about our kids and what we wanted for the world. and yeah, is that idealistic? yes, it is. but is that, is that life? it, you, you bet it is. >> you"re watching "talk to al jazeera". up next, is the cost of space exploration worth it? charles bolden weighs in. >> al jazeera america, weekday mornings. start your day with a view of the world. catch up on what happened overnight with a full morning brief, a fast paced look at the stories shaping your day. >> sending a strong message to the rest of the world. >> stories with impact. news with importance. >> people gotta have water. >> get a first hand look with in-depth reports and investigations, and the latest from the worlds of science tech, health and culture. no matter where you are in the country, start weekday mornings with al jazeera america. open your eyes to a world in motion. >> you"re watching "talk to al jazeera". i'm ray suarez, speaking with charles bolden the administrator of nasa. >> throughout the

but i met sergei and vladimir titov, who was his backup. and we talked all night about our kids and what we wanted for the world. and yeah, is that idealistic? yes, it is. but is that, is that life? it, you, you bet it is. >> you"re watching "talk to al jazeera". up next, is the cost of space exploration worth it? charles bolden weighs in. >> monday. the fastest internet in the country. >> it's the next generation internet. >> but why isn't it in your town? >> our internet's half the speed of dial-up. >> could big cable be controlling your access to the web? >> it's not even gonna play. >> your right to access knowledge is being limited. >> techknow's team of experts show you how the miracles of science... >> i'm standing in a tropical wind storm. >> can affect and surprise us. >> wow! some of these are amazing. >> "techknow", where technology meets humanity. monday, 6:30 eastern. only on al jazeera america. >> you"re watching "talk to al jazeera". i'm ray suarez, speaking with charles bolden the administrator of nasa. >> throughout the yea