My background is in physics, so I was the mission specialist, who is sort of like the flight engineer on an airplane.
From Sally Ride
Then during the mission itself, I used the space shuttle's robot arm to release a satellite into orbit.
The space shuttle is a better and safer rocket than it was before the Challenger accident.
For a long time, society put obstacles in the way of women who wanted to enter the sciences.
I liked math - that was my favorite subject - and I was very interested in astronomy and in physical science.
So most astronauts are astronauts for a couple of years before they are assigned to a flight.
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.
The food isn't too bad. It's very different from the food that the astronauts ate in the very early days of the space program.
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.
I didn't really decide that I wanted to be an astronaut for sure until the end of college.
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