Sally Ride

I did not come to NASA to make history.

— Sally Ride

I have been a bit of a risk-taker all my life.

— Sally Ride

I don't have any nicknames.

— Sally Ride

Different astronauts sleep in different ways.

— Sally Ride

It takes a few years to prepare for a space mission.

— Sally Ride

The view of Earth is spectacular.

— Sally Ride

It's too bad our society isn't further along.

— Sally Ride

On both of my flights, everything went very well.

— Sally Ride

All adventures, especially into new territory, are scary.

— Sally Ride

“When you’re getting ready to launch into space, you’re sitting on a big explosion just waiting to happen.”

— Sally Ride

The stars don't look bigger, but they do look brighter.

— Sally Ride

Ever been to Disneyland? That was definitely an E ticket!

— Sally Ride

I can't remember a single time [my parents] ever told me not to do something I wanted to do.

— Sally Ride

For a long time, society put obstacles in the way of women who wanted to enter the sciences.

— Sally Ride

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

— Sally Ride

But even in elementary school and junior high, I was very interested in space and in the space program.

— Sally Ride

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…

— Sally Ride

Some astronauts sleep in sort of beds - compartments that you can open up and crawl into and then close up, almost…

— Sally Ride

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

— Sally Ride

NASA has to approve whatever we wear, so there are clothes to choose from, like space shorts - we wear those a…

— Sally Ride

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

— Sally Ride

So most astronauts getting ready to lift off are excited and very anxious and worried about that explosion - because if something…

— Sally Ride

We can see cities during the day and at night, and we can watch rivers dump sediment into the ocean, and see…

— Sally Ride

I think eventually private enterprise will be able to send people into orbit, but I suspect initially it's going to have to…

— Sally Ride

For whatever reason, I didn't succumb to the stereotype that science wasn't for girls. I got encouragement from my parents. I never…

— Sally Ride

When the space shuttle's engines cut off, and you're finally in space, in orbit, weightless... I remember unstrapping from my seat, floating…

— Sally Ride

I've discovered that half the people would love to go into space and there's no need to explain it to them. The…

— Sally Ride

Astronauts will remain the explorers, the pioneers-the first to go back to moon and on to Mars. But I think it's really…

— Sally Ride

It was a real honor for me to get to be the first woman astronaut. I think it's really important that young…

— Sally Ride

If they asked me if I wanted to go into space tomorrow, I'd do it in a heartbeat. On the other hand,…

— Sally Ride

The view of earth is absolutely spectacular, and the feeling of looking back and seeing your planet as a planet is just…

— Sally Ride

The view of earth is spectacular from space. Most people imagine that when astronauts look out the window of the shuttle they…

— Sally Ride

Suppose you came across a woman lying on the street with an elephant sitting on her chest. You notice she is short…

— Sally Ride

It was hard to become an astronaut. Not anywhere near as much physical training as people imagine, but a lot of mental…

— Sally Ride

Anything from making a mistake on an experiment that would ruin some scientist on earth's experiment - career, potentially - to doing…

— Sally Ride

There's a huge amount of pressure on every astronaut, because when you get right down to it, the experiments that are conducted…

— Sally Ride

Eventually private enterprise will be able to send people into orbit, but I suspect initially it's going to have to be with…

— Sally Ride

You know, I go around the country a lot.

— Sally Ride

So I decided on science when I was in college.

— Sally Ride

Weightless is a great equalizer.

— Sally Ride