Anders spent long stretches away from home during training. Valerie was raising their five children (the family had welcomed another son, Eric, after Anders joined NASA) in El Lago, a small town near Houston where many astronauts lived, making Bill’s paycheck go seven ways. One day, Anders calculated the amount of time he spent with each of his kids: eleven minutes per week per child. He regretted it, and didn’t consider himself to be a good father because of all the time he spent away. But for now, beating the Russians was more important than being an ideal family man.
