Valentina Tereshkova Space Quotations

You don't think about the danger. The spaceship becomes your home.

I am deeply grieved by the loss of the crew of Columbia. I express my sincere condolences to the families and friends of the astronauts. I believe that their names will remain as the bright sparkling stars in the universe and will light the way for those who will follow them on the difficult roads of space exploration.

The missing toothbrush was nothing compared with the fact that the spacecraft was orientated to ascend, not descend. I would have gone up and up instead of going back down to the ground.

They forbade me from flying, despite all my protests and arguments. After being once in space, I was desperately keen to go back there. But it didn't happen.

I felt fine after 24 hours and asked the state commission to prolong my stay in space to three days. And I carried out the entire schedule. Could I have done that if I had been half-dead?

I would not say that female cosmonauts are not welcomed in the Russian space program. I must say, however, that all spaceflight hardware, including spacesuits and spacecraft comfort assuring systems, were designed mostly by men and for men.

Russia is still the leader in world space exploration. But its position of leader involves great responsibility - we have no right to lag behind. We can and we must move constantly forward.

Anyone who has spent any time in space will love it for the rest of their lives. I achieved my childhood dream of the sky.

If women can be railroad workers in Russia, why can't they fly in space?

Once you've been in space, you appreciate how small and fragile the Earth is.

In the second half of the 20th century our country launched the first artificial space satellite and sent the first man into space, built the first-ever passenger jet, the first nuclear reactor and the first quantum generator. Such a research potential cannot dissipate overnight no matter how adverse the circumstances.