We didn't have rest days or weekends because we had to get ready as fast as possible, so we could beat the Americans, who were also racing to send a woman into space.

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?

There was a lake beneath me, but the big, heavy parachute which had to be opened two miles above the ground couldn't be steered. My first thought was, 'Lord, they send just one woman into space, and she has to end up in the water.'

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 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?