Sally Ride

“My background is in physics, so I was the mission specialist, who is sort of like the flight engineer on an airplane.”

“I think it's important for little girls growing up, and young women, to have one in every walk of life. So from that point of view, I'm proud to be a role model!”

“I liked math - that was my favorite subject - and I was very interested in astronomy and in physical science.”

“My parents must have done a great job. Anytime I wanted to pursue something that they weren't familiar with, that was not part of their lifestyle, they let me go ahead and do it.”

“I felt very honored, and I knew that people would be watching very closely, and I felt it was very, very important that I do a good job.”

“On a standard space shuttle crew, two of the astronauts have a test pilot background - the commander and the pilot.”

“It's well known that many girls have a tendency to dumb down when they're in middle school.”

“So most astronauts are astronauts for a couple of years before they are assigned to a flight.”

“The most anxious time was during launch, just because that is so dramatic.”

“But when I wasn't working, I was usually at a window looking down at Earth.”

“The astronauts who came in with me in my astronaut class - my class had 29 men and 6 women - those men were all very used to working with women.”

“Then during the mission itself, I used the space shuttle's robot arm to release a satellite into orbit.”

“I've discovered that half the people would love to go into space and there's no need to explain it to them. The other half can't understand and I couldn't explain it to them. If someone doesn't know why, I can't explain it.”

“I haven't written my memoirs or let the television movie be made about my life.”

“Once you are assigned to a flight, the whole crew is assigned at the same time, and then that crew trains together for a whole year to prepare for that flight.”

“When the space shuttle's engines cut off, and you're finally in space, in orbit, weightless... I remember unstrapping from my seat, floating over to the window, and that's when I got my first view of Earth. Just a spectacular view, and a chance to see our planet as a planet.”

“Because I was a tennis player, Billie Jean King was a hero of mine.”

“I've spent my whole life not talking to people, and I don't see why I should start now.”

“Even though NASA tries to simulate launch, and we practice in simulators, it's not the same - it's not even close to the same.”

“The pressure suit helps if something goes wrong during launch or re-entry - astronauts have a way to parachute off the shuttle. The suits protect you from loss of pressure in case of emergency.”