Sally Ride

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On June 18th, 1983 the Challenger, an American space shuttle wasn't holding a regular crew of all men, the shuttle was carrying Sally Ride, the first American woman in space. Sally Ride was born on May 26th, 1951 in Los Angeles, California. At a young age Ride grew a love for science which later prompted her to apply for NASA. She later attended Stanford, where she earned her P.h.D and B.A in physics. Sally Ride is a national hero because she was willing to risk her life for science, and proved women can do anything they put their mind to.

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Sally Ride was married in 1985 to astronaut Steven Hawley, but they were later divorced. She later met Tam O's\Shaughnessy who later became her partner and co-founder of her organization. Before she trained for launch, she worked in the control center and worked as a communicator and engineer. After training to go into orbit, she became an operator of the Challenger's manipulator arm.

In 1977, when Sally was attending Stanford, she was flipping through her school's newspaper when an ad caught her eye, it was asking for applicants who were open to work for NASA. Though Ride never saw herself as an astronaut, she felt she needed to apply because of her love for science and her athleticism. A few weeks later, Ride received word that she was one of six women to be chosen to become apart of NASA's astronaut program. Sally Ride later explained, "I did not come to NASA to make history." She accepted the job at NASA not to make headlines, but to show how women can do anything men can. Through years of training and waiting, she received an opportunity to go into orbit and become the first American women in space. Sally Ride spent over 343 hours in space throughout her lifetime, which included 3 trips outside of Earth. Ride didn't let her gender stop her from applying for NASA, even though her chances of being picked for the job would be very slim.

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One of the many reasons Ride applied for NASA was that she believed it was time to send a woman to space. Sally Ride once said, "If we want scientists and engineers in the future, we should be cultivating the girls as much as the boys". She felt that not enough girls were encouraged to pursue careers in the field of science. After retiring from NASA, she founded a non-profit organization called Sally Ride Science, which inspires kids to explore science. Her devotion to education helped her influence young girls to follow their passions in science. Her program continues to inspire women to follow careers in science despite her passing.