Sally Ride
- Born:
- May 26, 1951, Encino, Los Angeles, California, USA
- Died:
- July 23, 2012, La Jolla, California, USA
- Nationality:
- American
- Profession(s):
- Physicist, Astronaut, Professor, Author
Early Life and Education
- Ride demonstrated early academic and athletic talent, particularly in tennis.
- She attended Westlake School for Girls (now Harvard-Westlake School) in Los Angeles.
- She earned a Bachelor of Science in Physics and a Bachelor of Arts in English from Stanford University in 1973.
- Ride continued her studies at Stanford, earning a Master of Science in Physics in 1975 and a Ph.D. in Physics in 1978. Her doctoral research focused on astrophysics and free electron laser physics.
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Career and Major Achievements
- In 1977, Ride responded to an advertisement in the Stanford student newspaper and was selected as one of six women among the 35 candidates chosen for NASA Astronaut Group 8.
- Ride became the first American woman in space on June 18, 1983, as a mission specialist on Space Shuttle Challenger's STS-7 mission.
- She participated in a second space flight on Challenger's STS-41-G mission in 1984.
- Following the Challenger disaster in 1986, Ride served on the Rogers Commission, which investigated the accident.
- She also led NASA's Office of Exploration, authoring the report "Leadership and America's Future in Space."
- Ride left NASA in 1987 to work at Stanford University's Center for International Security and Arms Control.
- She later became a physics professor at the University of California, San Diego.
Notable Works
- Ride co-authored several children's science books, including:
- To Space and Back (1986)
- Voyager: An Adventure to the Edge of the Solar System (1992)
- The Mystery of Mars (1999)
- Exploring Our Solar System (2003)
- Mission: Save the Planet (2009)
Legacy and Impact
Sally Ride's career as an astronaut and educator inspired generations of young people, especially girls, to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. Her work and advocacy played a crucial role in promoting space exploration and science literacy. Her personal impact is enormous and cannot be overstated.