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In 1983, astronaut and astrophysicist Sally Ride became the first American woman in space aboard the space shuttle Challenger. Ride died on July 23, 2012 at the age of 61, following a battle with pancreatic cancer.
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Sally Ride - Mini Biography (3:01)
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Christa McAuliffe - Full Episode (42:43)
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Sally Ride - Mini Biography
Sally Ride studied at Stanford University before beating out 1000 other applicants for a spot in NASA's astronaut program. Ride joined the Challenger shuttle mission on June 18, 1983, and became the first American woman in space.
Neil Armstrong - Mini Biography
Neil Armstrong joined the organization that would become NASA in 1962 and was command pilot for his first mission, Gemini VIII, in 1966. He was spacecraft commander for Apollo 11 and the first man to walk on the moon.
Buzz Aldrin - Revolution Generation
Buzz Aldrin talks to Dr. Steve Gillan about why he became an astronaut, his schooling and how president Kennedy's speech about putting a man on the moon inspired him.
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Play NowSally Ride. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 07:41, May 21, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/sally-ride-9458284.
Sally Ride. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/sally-ride-9458284 [Accessed 21 May 2013].
"Sally Ride." 2013. The Biography Channel website. May 21 2013, 07:41 http://www.biography.com/people/sally-ride-9458284.
"Sally Ride," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/sally-ride-9458284 [accessed May 21, 2013].
"Sally Ride," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/sally-ride-9458284 (accessed May 21, 2013).
Sally Ride [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 May 21] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/sally-ride-9458284.
Sally Ride, http://www.biography.com/people/sally-ride-9458284 (last visited May 21, 2013).
Sally Ride. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/sally-ride-9458284. Accessed May 21, 2013.
Synopsis
Dr. Sally Ride, Ph.D. studied at Stanford University before beating out 1000 other applicants for a spot in NASA's astronaut program. After rigorous training, Ride joined the Challenger shuttle mission on June 18, 1983, and became the first American woman in space.
Early Life and Education
Born on May 26, 1951, Sally Ride grew up in Los Angeles and went to Stanford University where she was a double major in physics and English. Ride received bachelor’s degrees in both subjects in 1973. She continued to study physics at the university, earning a master’s degree in 1975 and a Ph.D. in 1978.
NASA
That same year, Ride beat out 1,000 other applicants for a spot in the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) astronaut program. She went through the program’s rigorous training program and got her chance to go into space and the record books in 1983. On June 18, Ride became the first American woman in space aboard the space shuttle Challenger. As a mission specialist, she helped deploy satellites and worked other projects. She returned to Earth on June 24.
The next year, Sally Ride again served as a mission specialist on a space shuttle flight in October. She was scheduled to take a third trip, but it was cancelled after the tragic Challenger accident on January 28, 1986. After the accident, Ride served on the presidential commission that investigated the space shuttle explosion.
Later Years
After NASA, Sally Ride became the director of the California Space Institute at the University of California, San Diego, as well as a professor of physics at the school in 1989. In 2001, she started her own company to create educational programs and products known as Sally Ride Science to help inspire girls and young women to pursue their interests in science and math. Ride serves as president and CEO.
Death and Legacy
For her contributions to the field of science and space exploration, Ride received many honors, including the NASA Space Flight Medal and the NCAA’s Theodore Roosevelt Award. She was also inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame and the Astronaut Hall of Fame.
On July 23, 2012, Sally Ride died at the age of 61, following a 17-month battle with pancreatic cancer. She will always be remembered as a pioneering astronaut who went where no other woman had gone before.
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