Sally Ride was born and raised in Los Angeles, CA. She was an athletic child who also loved science, but her passion for tennis began when she was nine, while on a year-long family trip in Europe. In addition to practicing tennis professionally, she also focused on her studies, graduating high school with the aspiration to become an astrophysicist.
Ride got accepted to Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania on a full scholarship, winning the Eastern Intercollegiate Women’s Singles championship in 1968 and 1969. After three semesters, she transferred to the University of California, Los Angeles, aiming to become a professional tennis player. Soon, she realized she didn’t have what it took to be the best and decided to focus on her studies.
Ride moved to Stanford University and graduated in 1978 with a Ph.D. in physics and astrophysics.
In 1977, Ride came across an advertisement in the students’ newspaper that NASA was recruiting scientists for the Space Shuttle program. She applied and got accepted into NASA Astronaut Group 8, one of 35 out of 8000 applicants.
While in training, she started a relationship with Steven Hawley, also a member of Group 8. They got married in 1982 (divorced five years later).
On June 18th, 1983, Ride took off on the Space Shuttle Challenger and became the first American woman in space and the third woman in history. She returned to space for her second and last mission in 1984.
Ride left NASA in 1987 to pursue an academic career. Two years later, she was appointed a professor of physics at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) and director of the California Space Institute, retiring from Cal Space in 1996 and UCSD in 2007.
Her passion for space and longtime desire to encourage youngsters, especially girls, to study science and technology led her to participate in several educational programs, including the EarthKam and GRAIL MoonKAM projects in collaboration with NASA. These projects have enabled people to view, request and use pictures of the Earth and moon from space. She also co-established “Sally Ride Science” (2001), which promotes and educates teachers and students in STEM.
She died from cancer in 2012.
Sally Ride - The First American Woman In Space | Mini Bio | BIO
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“If girls are interested, they have the potential to go further.”
“If girls are interested, they have the potential to go further.”
Fun Facts
- In 1972, she played in a doubles match against Billie Jean King, who was ranked the world's number 1 female tennis player.
- On her second mission, she carried a white silk scarf that Amelia Earhart used to wear.
- She spent over 343 hours in space.
- She served on panels that investigated the Challenger disaster and the Columbia disaster.
- Several US presidents offered her the position of NASA Administrator, but she declined it every time.
- From 1985 till her death, she was in a relationship with Tam O'Shaughnessy, who co-founded Sally Ride Science.
- She was the youngest American person to visit space (at the age of 32) and the first known LGBTQ astronaut (as was revealed after her death).
- She published an autobiography and five children's books to introduce and fascinate them with science and space.
- Several schools, streets, and a satellite are named in her honor.
- She is the first known LGBTQ person to appear on a US currency.
Awards
- National Space Society's von Braun Award
- The Lindbergh Eagle
- NCAA's Theodore Roosevelt Award
- Samuel S. Beard Award for Greatest Public Service by an Individual 35 Years or Under
- Inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame and the Astronaut Hall of Fame
- Awarded the NASA Space Flight Medal twice
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Sally Ride - The First American Woman In Space | Mini Bio | BIO
Watch a short biography of Sally Ride, who became the first American Woman in space as part of the Challenger shuttle mission on June 18, 1983. #BiographySubscribe for more Biography: http://aetv.us/2AsWMPH
Delve deeper into Biography on our site:
http://www.biography.com
Follow Biography for more surprising stories from fascinating lives:
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Biography.com captures the most gripping, surprising, and fascinating stories about famous people: The biggest break. The defining opportunity. The most shattering failure. The unexpected connection. The decision that changed everything. With over 7,000 biographies and daily features that highlight newsworthy and compelling points-of-view, we are the digital source for true stories about people that matter.
Sally Ride - The First American Woman In Space | Mini Bio | BIO
https://www.youtube.com/user/BiographyChannel
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