“ I slept just floating in the middle of the flight deck, the upper deck of the space shuttle. Sally Ride
“ No, I think most astronauts recognize that the space shuttle program is very high-risk, and are prepared for accidents. Sally Ride
“ So most astronauts getting ready to lift off are excited and very anxious and worried about that explosion - because if something goes wrong in the first seconds of launch, there's not very much you c… Sally Ride
“ The space shuttle is a better and safer rocket than it was before the Challenger accident. Sally Ride
“ But even in elementary school and junior high, I was very interested in space and in the space program. Sally Ride
“ When you're getting ready to launch into space, you're sitting on a big explosion waiting to happen. Sally Ride
“ For a long time, society put obstacles in the way of women who wanted to enter the sciences. Sally Ride
“ I liked math - that was my favorite subject - and I was very interested in astronomy and in physical science. Sally Ride
“ 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! Sally Ride
“ The experience of being in space didn't change my perspective of myself or of the planet or of life. I had no spiritual experience. Sally Ride
“ I was always very interested in science, and I knew that for me, science was a better long-term career than tennis. Sally Ride
“ Studying whether there's life on Mars or studying how the universe began, there's something magical about pushing back the frontiers of knowledge. That's something that is almost part of being human,… Sally Ride
