145 Quotes by Sally Ride

When you're getting ready to launch into space, you're sitting on a big explosion waiting to happen.

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

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.

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.

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

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

It's easy to sleep floating around - it's very comfortable. But you have to be careful that you don't float into somebody or something!

No, I think most astronauts recognize that the space shuttle program is very high-risk, and are prepared for accidents.

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.