I liked math - that was my favorite subject - and I was very interested in astronomy and in physical science.

Well, we spend an awful lot of our time working and doing experiments. It's very busy up on the shuttle.

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.

Yes, I did feel a special responsibility to be the first American woman in space.

For whatever reason, I didn't succumb to the stereotype that science wasn't for girls. I got encouragement from my parents. I never ran into a teacher or a counselor who told me that science was for boys. A lot of my friends did.

It's too bad our society isn't further along.

The most important steps that I followed were studying math and science in school. I was always interested in physics and astronomy and chemistry and I continued to study those subjects through high school and college on into graduate school. That's what prepared me for being an astronaut; it actually gave me the qualifications to be selected to be an astronaut.