Trailblazer: First American Woman into Space: Astronaut Sally Ride

Astronaut Sally Ride
NASA Photo

May 26 is Astronaut Sally Ride's birthday. Accepted into the National Aeronautics Space Administration (NASA) training program, she was the first American woman to fly in space aboard the space shuttle Challenger. Her first flight in 1983 she was a mission specialist and helped deploy satellites and worked other projects. She made another trip on the Challenger the next year. She was scheduled to fly again in the Challenger, but unfortunately the shuttle crashed in 1986. She was appointed to the presidential committee to investigate the explosion. 

Sally continued her work at NASA until 1987 when according to the bio site, she "became the director of the California Space Institute at the University of California, San Diego, as well as a professor of physics at the school in 1989. In 2001, she started her own company to create educational programs and products known as Sally Ride Science to help inspire girls and young women to pursue their interests in science and math. Ride served as president and CEO."

VIDEO:

Listen to Sally talk about her experience on her first flight into space.

You Tube Video: Astronaut Sally Ride's First Flight into Space on the Challenger Shuttle

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