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

You can picture pretty easily if there were a paying passenger aboard a rocket that failed, like Challenger failed. Certainly it would be a tragedy, and a tragedy for the company. They would have a hard time recovering from it.

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.

We can see cities during the day and at night, and we can watch rivers dump sediment into the ocean, and see hurricanes form.

When you can feel that close to something you're used to seeing from this great distance, well, it changes a person.

Because I was a tennis player, Billie Jean King was a hero of mine.

I would like to be remembered as someone who was not afraid to do what she wanted to do, and as someone who took risks along the way in order to achieve her goals.