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!

The women's movement had already paved the way, I think, for my coming.

I had both male and female heroes.

All adventures, especially into new territory, are scary.

I was always very interested in science, and I knew that for me, science was a better long-term career than tennis.

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.

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.

The fact that I was going to be the first American woman to go into space carried huge expectations along with it.

So I saw many planets, and they looked just a little bit brighter than they do from Earth.

The view of Earth is spectacular.

NASA has to approve whatever we wear, so there are clothes to choose from, like space shorts - we wear those a lot - and NASA T-shirts.