Quotes by Valentina Tereshkova

Again the pressure pushes me in the chair, shuts my eyes. I notice the dark red tongues of the flame outside the windows. I'm trying to memorize, fix all the feelings, the peculiarities of this descending, to tell those, who will be conquering space after me.

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.

I am convinced that the modular structure of the Mir will be the main trend in manned orbital stations development in the next century.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

The ideals of the party were close to me, and I have tried to adhere to those principles all my life. In essence, they are the same as in the Ten Commandments in the Bible. I will never change my convictions.

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.

To tell her that I joined the parachute club was too hard for me. I didn't want to trouble her; besides, I was not completely sure about the success of my new adventure.