I have a lot of common sense. I know what needs to be done and how to approach it. I have an ability to work with people on large enterprises.

I haven't written my memoirs or let the television movie be made about my life.

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

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

I was always very interested in science, and I knew that for me, science was a better long-term career than tennis.

It takes a couple of years just to get the background and knowledge that you need before you can go into detailed training for your mission.

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

It's no secret that I've been reluctant to use my name for things.

It's well known that many girls have a tendency to dumb down when they're in middle school.

NASA has to approve whatever we wear, so there are clothes to choose from, like space shorts - we wear those a lot - and NASA T-shirts.

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

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

On both of my flights, everything went very well.

One thing I probably share with everyone else in the astronaut office is composure.

So I saw many planets, and they looked just a little bit brighter than they do from Earth.

So most astronauts are astronauts for a couple of years before they are assigned to a flight.

Some astronauts sleep in sort of beds - compartments that you can open up and crawl into and then close up, almost like a little bedroom.

The astronauts who came in with me in my astronaut class - my class had 29 men and 6 women - those men were all very used to working with women.

The experience of being in space didn't change my perspective of myself or of the planet or of life. I had no spiritual experience.

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