“It was hard to become an astronaut. Not anywhere near as much physical training as people imagine, but a lot of mental training, a lot of learning. You have to learn everything there is to know about the Space Shuttle and everything you are going to be doing, and everything you need to know if something goes wrong, and then once you have learned it all, you have to practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice until everything is second nature, so it's a very, very difficult training, and it takes years.” PeopleIfsKnowsNeedsYearsHardDifficultSpacePracticeImagineTrainingAstronautSpace ShuttlePhysical Training Author: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 on a space flight, or the satellites that are carried up, the work that's to be done, is important and expensive work, and you are up there for a week or two on a Space Shuttle flight. The country has invested a lot of money in you and your training, and the Space Shuttle and everything that's in it, and you have to do things correctly. You can't make a mistake during that week or two that you're in space.” TwoImportantCountryDoneSpaceMistakeWeekHugeAmountTrainingPressureExperimentsFlightExpensiveLots Of MoneyAstronautSatellitesSpace ShuttleSpace Flight Author:Sally Ride
“After the Challenger accident, NASA put in a lot of time to improve the safety of the space shuttle to fix the things that had gone wrong.” SpaceGoneSafetyAccidentsNasaSpace ShuttleWorkplace SafetyShuttle ProgramSpace Shuttle Challenger Author:Sally Ride
“I slept just floating in the middle of the flight deck, the upper deck of the space shuttle.” SpaceMiddleFlightFloatingDeckSpace Shuttle Author:Sally Ride
“No, I think most astronauts recognize that the space shuttle program is very high-risk, and are prepared for accidents.” ThinkingSpaceRiskProgramPreparedAccidentsAstronautSpace ShuttleHigh RiskShuttle Program Author:Sally Ride
“On a standard space shuttle crew, two of the astronauts have a test pilot background - the commander and the pilot.” TwoSpaceStandardsTestsBackgroundsPilotsCrewCommandersAstronautSpace Shuttle Author:Sally Ride
“The space shuttle is a better and safer rocket than it was before the Challenger accident.” SpaceAccidentsRocketsSpace ShuttleSpace Shuttle Challenger Author:Sally Ride
“Then during the mission itself, I used the space shuttle's robot arm to release a satellite into orbit.” HandsUsedSpaceArmsMissionsReleaseRobotsOrbitSatellitesSpace Shuttle Author:Sally Ride
“The pressure suit helps if something goes wrong during launch or re-entry - astronauts have a way to parachute off the shuttle. The suits protect you from loss of pressure in case of emergency.” IfsWayHelpingLossCasesProtectPressureSuitsEmergenciesAstronautEntryProtect YouParachutesSpace ShuttleRe Entry Author: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 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.” FirstsEarthRememberChanceSpaceViewsCuttingPlanetsWindowSeatsEnginesFloatingOur PlanetSpectacularOrbitSpace Shuttle Author:Sally Ride
“The thing I'll remember most about the flight is that it was fun. In fact, I'm sure it was the most fun that I'll ever have in my life.” FactsRememberFunSpaceFlightSpace TravelSpace ProgramSpace ShuttleShuttle Program Author:Sally Ride
