“All adventures, especially into new territory, are scary, “ - Sally Ride.
It’s not easy to believe that this woman made such big contributions to NASA when she just started off as a young child obsessed with tennis and softball. Sally Ride was a hard worker, innovative, and had an amazing effect on women and the world.
On May 26, 1951, in Encino, California, Sally Ride was born. She was born to her father, Dale, who was a political scientist. and her mother, who volunteered as a counselor at a prison for women. She had a sister named Karen, and a whole lot of attitude. Growing up, her first word was “NO,”, and as a young child in Southern California she nicknamed herself, ‘Sassy’.
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After one long year of training, Ride became qualified as a space shuttle mission specialist. She was placed on a support team for two Columbia flights, and then in April, 1982, she was scheduled for the Challenger mission. On June 18, 1983, she was the first American woman to fly in space. She was one of the three mission specialists in mission STS-7. Along with being the first American woman in space, she was also the youngest American woman in space. She executed her second mission in October, 1984, and was preparing for her third, when the Challenger exploded. Seven astronauts were killed and while NASA investigated, she worked as the astronaut office representative on the investigative commission. Next, she moved to Washington, D.C., and authored a report called “Leadership and America's Future in Space”. In 1987 she retired from NASA and worked at universities. She also came up with the idea for NASA’s EarthKAM. EarthKAM was a program that let middle schoolers take pictures of the Earth using NASA’s International Space Station to then study the pictures. She wrote science books for kids, including Mission Planet Earth and Exploring our Solar System. She was the only person to serve on both committees that investigated the Space Shuttle accidents of the Challenger and Columbia. Until her death, she continued to help students -especially girls- study science and math. She is in the National Women’s Hall of Fame