after reading tht shuttle article, its a wonder any one would want to fly in the 80's.  then the challenger happened, probably a great thing for NASA that it wasnt the first shuttle launch in history.  The Right Stuff book by Tom Wolf explained the early pilots' enthusiasm to keep takin' flight to the next step, flying drunk/hungover and stuff, but the shuttle program I think goes far beyond having the right stuff.  you'd be crazy to be the first launch team.