Sally Kristen Ride (May 26, 1951 – July 23, 2012) was an American physicist and astronaut. Born in Los Angeles, Ride joined NASA in 1978 and, at the age of 32, became the first American woman in space. After flying twice on the space shuttle Challenger, she left NASA in 1987. She worked for two years at Stanford University's Center for International Security and Arms Control, then the University of California, San Diego as a professor of physics, primarily researching non-linear optics and Thomson scattering. She served on the committees that investigated the Challenger and Columbia space shuttle disasters, the only person to participate on both. Ride remains the youngest American astronaut to travel to space.
Yes, I did feel a special responsibility to be the first American woman in space.
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When I wasn't working, I was usually at a window looking down at Earth.
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No, I think most astronauts recognize that the space shuttle program is very high-risk, and are prepared for accidents.
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The stars don't look bigger, but they do look brighter.
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Posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2013 by President Barack Obama.
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Partner of Tam O'Shaughnessy for 27 years.
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Ride beat out 1,000 other applicants for a spot in the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) astronaut program.
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Grew up in Los Angeles and attended Portola Middle School and Westlake School for Girls in LA (now Harvard-Westlake School) on a scholarship. In addition to being interested in science, she was a nationally ranked tennis player. Ride attended Swarthmore College for three semesters, took physics courses at UCLA, and then entered Stanford University as a junior, graduating with a bachelor's degree in English and physics. Also at Stanford, she earned a master's degree and a Ph.D. in physics, while doing research in astrophysics and free electron laser physics.
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She was scheduled to take a third trip, but it was canceled after the tragic Challenger accident on January 28, 1986. After the accident, Ride served on the presidential commission that investigated the space shuttle explosion.
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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.
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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 served as president and CEO.
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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.
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Had a 17-month battle with pancreatic cancer.
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Ride endorsed Barack Obama for president in 2008.
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Ride was a member of the Review of United States Human Space Flight Plans Committee, an independent review requested by the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) on May 7, 2009.
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Her relationship with her partner of 27 years, Dr. Tam O'Shaughnessy, was revealed in Ride's obituary released by Sally Ride Science and confirmed by Ride's sister, as well as a Sally Ride Science spokesperson.
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At her first launch at Cape Canaveral, many in the crowd of 250,000 that watched the launching wore T-shirts that said, "Ride, Sally Ride" - from the lyrics of the song "Mustang Sally.".
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Brought with her a Norwegian flag into space, in tribute of her Norwegian heritage.
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Inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame, 2003.
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Inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in 1988.
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Her former husband, Steve Hawley, was also an astronaut who participated in at least two Space Shuttle missions.
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The first American woman in space, on the shuttle Challenger, June 1983.
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