Sally Ride

Sally Kristen Ride (b. May 26, 1951) is a former astronaut and the first American woman to reach outer space, in 1983. She was preceded by two Soviet women, Valentina Tereshkova (1963) and Svetlana Savitskaya (1982).

Career

Ride was born in Encino, Los Angeles, California and went to high school at Westlake School for Girls in Los Angeles (now Harvard-Westlake School). She initially attended Swarthmore College but received her bachelor's degrees (in English and physics) from Stanford University in Palo Alto, California. She eventually received a master's degree and a Ph.D. in physics at the same institution, while doing research in astrophysics, general relativity, and free-electron laser physics.

Related Topics:
Encino, Los Angeles, California - Westlake School for Girls - Harvard-Westlake School - Swarthmore College - Bachelor's degrees - English - Physics - Stanford University - Palo Alto, California - Master's degree - Ph.D. - Astrophysics - General relativity - Free-electron laser physics

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Ride later joined NASA and in 1983 became the first American woman in space as a crewmember on Space Shuttle Challenger for STS-7. Her second space flight was in 1984, also on board the Challenger. She has cumulatively spent more than 343 hours in space.

Related Topics:
NASA - Space Shuttle - Challenger - STS-7

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In 1987, Ride left NASA to work at the Stanford University Center for International Security and Arms Control. In 1989, she became a professor of physics at the University of California, San Diego. She is currently on leave from the university in order to run Sally Ride Science, a company that creates programs and publications for upper elementary and middle school girls who are interested in science.

Related Topics:
1987 - Stanford University Center for International Security and Arms Control - 1989 - University of California, San Diego

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Ride is the only person to serve on both of the panels investigating Shuttle accidents (those for the Challenger explosion and the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster).

Related Topics:
''Challenger'' explosion - Space Shuttle Columbia disaster

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She occasionally appears on television, in shows or commercials. She is the author of several children's books about space exploration, including: The Third Planet, Exploring Earth from Space; To Space and Back; Voyager; and The Mystery of Mars.

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