All adventures, especially into new territory, are scary.

— Sally Ride

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

— Sally Ride

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

— 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 ran into a teacher or a counselor who told me that science was for boys. A lot of my friends did.

— Sally Ride

I did not come to NASA to make history.

— Sally Ride

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

— Sally Ride

I slept just floating in the middle of the flight deck, the upper deck of the space shuttle.

— 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!

— 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 other half can't understand, and I couldn't explain it to them. If someone doesn't know why, I can't explain it.

— Sally Ride

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

— Sally Ride