Sally Ride

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

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.

All adventures, especially into new territory, are scary.

I did not come to NASA to make history.

Yes, I did feel a special responsibility to be the first American woman in space.

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.

If we want scientists and engineers in the future, we should be cultivating the girls as much as the boys.

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

I would like to be remembered as someone who was not afraid to do what she wanted to do, and as someone who took risks along the way in order to achieve her goals.

I think maybe it's too bad that our society isn't further along and this is such a big deal. I think it's time...that people realize that women in this country can do any job they want to do.

Astronauts will remain the explorers, the pioneers-the first to go back to moon and on to Mars. But I think it's really important to make space space available to as many people as we can. It's going to be a while before we can launch people for less than $20 million a ticket. But that day is coming.

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 can do.

Our future lies with today's kids and tomorrow's space exploration.