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

I think eventually private enterprise will be able to send people into orbit, but I suspect initially it's going to have to be with NASA's help.

The view of Earth is spectacular.

But when I wasn't working, I was usually at a window looking down at Earth.

Anything from making a mistake on an experiment that would ruin some scientist on earth's experiment - career, potentially - to doing something wrong with the satellite that a country was depending on for its communications, to making some mistake that could actually cost you and the crew either a mission or your lives. So there is a lot of pressure that's put on every astronaut to just make sure that he or she understands exactly what to do, exactly when to do it, and is trained and prepared to carry it out.

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

If we want scientists and engineers in the future, we should be cultivating the girls as much as the boys.