Harris recounted his devastating rejection from the Astronaut Corps in 1987. After spending a week interviewing and feeling confident, he received a call telling him he wouldn't be selected that year. He sat back and cried, then faced a choice: accept the verdict and give up his dream, or use the failure to improve his skills and increase his visibility for the next round. He chose the latter, and when NASA held another astronaut class in 1990, he was the first one selected to interview and the first chosen in his class of 23.