Sally Ride

1951 - 2012

Sally Ride was the first American woman in space. She grew up in California with her sister and parents who pushed her to explore her interest in science. Sally attended Westlake High School for Girls on a partial tennis scholarship. Upon graduation, she had a brief stint in professional tennis before returning to California to attend Stanford University. Earning a Bachelor of Science in Physics, a Bachelor of Arts degree in English, a Masters of Science, and a Doctorate in Physics, Sally applied to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and was selected as one of NASA’s six female astronauts.

Starting her training in 1978, Sally worked as a ground-support crew member for shuttle flights before experiencing her first spaceflight on the space shuttle Challenger in June of 1983. Sally became the first American woman to travel to space a second time when she took part in the next Challenger mission in 1984. Following her experience with NASA, Sally became a professor of Physics at the University of California in San Diego and president of Space.com. She co-founded the organization, Sally Ride Science, which is dedicated to encouraging students- girls in particular- to study science. Sally also wrote five science-related children's books before she passed away in July 2012 following a 17-month battle against pancreatic cancer.