Sally Ride Years Quotations

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.

If they asked me if I wanted to go into space tomorrow, I'd do it in a heartbeat. On the other hand, if they asked me if I wanted to go into training for three years and then go into space again, I'd probably say no.

I love the John Glenn model... I may call NASA in 25 years or so, and see if they'd like to send me to Mars.

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

Once you are assigned to a flight, the whole crew is assigned at the same time, and then that crew trains together for a whole year to prepare for that flight.

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

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.