And yet, the … She and OShaughnessy established Sally Ride Science, a nonprofit organization that encourages children from all backgrounds to take an interest in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM.) Ogle-Mater, Janet. She put her professorship at UCSD on hold and founded Sally Ride Science in 2001 to develop young girls’ curiosity and encourage their life-long interest in science, engineering, technology, and math. She joined NASA in 1977, and underwent years of rigorous physical and scientific training. Select personalised content. Sally Ride died on July 23, 2012, at the age of 61 after a 17-month battle with pancreatic cancer. Ride, a superstar college tennis player … Sally Ride was born in Los Angeles, California to Dale Burdell Ride, a political science professor and Carol Joyce Ride, a counsellor. She also faced a barrage of questions from reporters, most of whom were men obviously puzzled by the sight of a female in a flight suit. The five-person crew conducted other maneuvers and completed a number of scientific experiments during their 147 hours in space before landing at Edwards Air Force Base on June 24, 1983, in California. That same year, Sally Ride retired from NASA. When President Ronald Reagan called for a federal investigation into the cause of the tragedy, Sally Ride was selected as one of 13 commissioners to take part in the Rogers Commission. As a female astronaut, Sally Ride suffered a lot of sexism. Kathryn (Kate) D. Sullivan was part of the crew, placing two American women in space for the first time. She was the first child of parents, Carol Joyce Ride (a counselor at the county jail) and Dale Burdell Ride (a political science professor at Santa Monica College). Who was Sally Ride? Become a Study.com member to unlock this answer! Sally Ride is best known for being the first American woman in space and for her impact on U.S. space policy (The Ride Report). Sally Ride came home to fanfare from both the press and the public. Sally Ride died on July 23, 2012, at the age of 61 after a 17-month battle with pancreatic cancer. On board STS-7 were four other astronauts: Captain Robert L. Crippen, the spacecraft commander; Captain Frederick H. Hauck, the pilot; and two other Mission Specialists, Colonel John M. Fabian and Dr. Norman E. Thagard. In addition, Sally Ride co-authored seven books on science education for children. In 1977, while Sally Ride was a physics doctoral student at Stanford, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) conducted a national search for new astronauts and for the first time allowed women to apply, so she did. While the shuttle program was grounded, Sally Ride turned her interest toward NASA’s planning of future missions. Today, the impact of Ride's work extends far beyond her time in space. Sally Ride. After leaving NASA, Sally Ride set her sights on a career as a college professor of physics. Create a personalised content profile. She was the only person to serve on both space shuttle accident investigation commissions. She was researching and teaching physics at UCSD when another shuttle disaster brought her temporarily back to NASA. List of Partners (vendors), Janet Ogle-Mater is a writer specializing in history and biography. Wikipedia. This public disaster was a great blow to NASA’s space shuttle program, resulting in the grounding of all space shuttles for three years. She went on to found Sally Ride Science, a … On January 28, 1986, a seven-person crew, including the first civilian headed to space, teacher Christa McAuliffe, took their seats inside the Challenger. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Students from around the world select areas on the moon to be photographed by satellites and then the images can be used in the classroom to study the lunar surface. Sixteen months later, on October 5, 1984, Sally Ride rode into space again on the Challenger. Ride has taught us, women, to pursue our dreams and to not give up, even if people judge us. Sally Ride affected today's world by encouraging young girls' involvement in math, science, and technology. She helped develop the Remote Manipulator System (RMS), a robotic arm, and became proficient at its use. She then enrolled at Stanford University and graduated in 1973 with bachelor degrees in both English and Physics. Sally Ride was a sports fan at a young age, reading the sports page by the age of five. Gender has always been a struggle Sally Ride was the first female astronaut to go in space. Mission STS-41G was the 13th time a shuttle had flown into space and was the first flight with a crew of seven. The location of the Sally K. Ride Impact Site is on the southern face of an approximately 1.5-mile-tall (2.5-kilometer) mountain near a crater named Goldschmidt. "Sally Ride worked tirelessly throughout her life to remind all of us, especially girls, to keep questioning and learning," said Sen. Barbara Mikulski of Maryland. Sally … A year later the program was installed on the International Space Station where on a typical mission, more than 100 schools participate and 1500 photographs are taken of the Earth and its atmospheric conditions. By the summer of 1979, Sally Ride had completed her astronaut training, which included parachute jumping, water survival, radio communications, and flying jets. She was one of only six women to be accepted, out of 8,000 applicants. As the Internet was growing in everyday use in 1999, she became president of an online company called Space.com, which highlights scientific news for those interested in space. It was only after her death that Ride disclosed to the world that she was a lesbian; in an obituary that she co-wrote, Ride revealed her 27-year relationship with partner Tam O’Shaughnessy. A year later, Sally Ride was selected, along with five other women and 29 men, as a candidate for NASA’s astronaut program. Their investigation found the main cause of the explosion was due to the destruction of the seals in the right rocket motor, which allowed hot gasses to leak through the joints and weaken the external tank. ThoughtCo, Feb. 16, 2021, thoughtco.com/sally-ride-1779837. All seven on board were killed, four of whom were from Sally Ride’s 1977 training class. Select basic ads. Apply market research to generate audience insights. History was made on June 18, 1983, when Sally Ride flew into space as part of the crew of mission STS-7 aboard the space shuttle Challenger. Following her death on July 23, 2012 at the age of 61, she also is being remembered as a soft-spoken physicist who wanted to inspire young people to consider careers in technical fields. She has co-authored two community history books, including “Chelsea's 175th Anniversary: 1834-2009.”. She was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame (1988), the Astronaut Hall of Fame (2003), the California Hall of Fame (2006), and the Aviation Hall of Fame (2007). On that day, she became the first American woman and the youngest astronaut of either gender to fly into space. Select personalised ads. Sally Ride's Legacy Left a Lasting Impact. Throughout her childhood, she was an outstanding athlete, which culminated in a tennis scholarship to a prestigious private school in Los Angeles, the Westlake School for Girls. Bonnie J. Dunbar, NASA astronaut (Ret) and TEES Distinguished Research Professor, Aerospace Engineering, Texas A&M University. 16 Black Americans in Astronomy and Space, The Life of Guion "Guy" Bluford: NASA Astronaut, Valentina Tereshkova: The First Woman in Space, They Never Became Astronauts: The Story of the Mercury 13, Biography of Judith Resnik, Second American Woman in Space, Christa McAuliffe: First NASA Teacher in Space Astronaut, Dr. Mae C. Jemison: Astronaut and Visionary, Biography of Ken Mattingly, Apollo and Shuttle Astronaut, Biography of Michael J. Smith, Challenger Astronaut, “Leadership and America’s Future in Space: A Report to the Administrator. I am fascinated by her success in transforming the world while hiding part of herself. O'Shaughnessy said NASA's announcement that Ride was to go to space had "a major impact on her life." The second launch for Sally Ride ended on October 13, 1984, in Florida after 197 hours in space. It also held other firsts for women astronauts. She moved to Washington D.C. to NASA headquarters to work in the new Office of Exploration and Office of Strategic Planning as a Special Assistant to the Administrator. While the Cold War was waning, she studied the banning of nuclear weapons. She was also the recipient of the Jefferson Award for Public Service, Lindberg Eagle, the von Braun Award, NCAA’s Theodore Roosevelt Award, and the National Space Grant Distinguished Service Award. What trait made Sally Ride different from every... What sport did Sally Ride play as a young... What kind of cancer did Sally Ride die... Did the Challenger carry Sally Ride on both... Did Sally Ride join in an Apollo mission? Sally Ride was a 27-year-old Ph.D. candidate, looking for postdoctoral work in astrophysics, when an item in the Stanford University newspaper caught her eye. Sally Kristen Ride, who died in July after a 17-month battle with pancreatic cancer, dedicated her life to pushing back frontiers. When the space shuttle Columbia launched on January 16, 2003, a piece of foam broke off and struck the shuttle’s wing. Sally Ride obtained the special targets from students and pre-programmed the necessary information and then sent it to NASA for inclusion on the shuttle’s computers, after which the camera would take the designated image and send it back to the classroom for study. With her postdoc complete in 1989, Sally Ride accepted a professorship at University of California at San Diego (UCSD) where she not only taught but also researched bow shocks, the shock wave resulting from stellar wind colliding with another medium. Earn Transferable Credit & Get your Degree. In this lesson, you'll learn about one of the most import women in modern history. Sally Ride's impact on the U.S. space program, and indeed on this country overall, was pervasive. She inspired Along with hours of in-classroom instruction learning every aspect of the shuttle, Sally Ride also logged numerous hours in the shuttle simulator. Also in 1982, she married fellow astronaut Steve Hawley. Seconds after lift-off, with thousands of Americans watching, the Challenger exploded into fragments in the air. Use precise geolocation data. It was only after her death that Ride disclosed to the world that she was a lesbian; in an obituary that she co-wrote, Ride revealed her 27-year relationship with partner Tam O’Shaughnessy. It was there she became captain of the tennis team during her high school years and competed in the national junior tennis circuit, ranking 18th in the semi-pro league. Create your account. Sally Ride excelled at school and graduated from Westlake School for Girls in 1968. The location of the Sally K. Ride Impact Site is on the southern face of an approximately 1.5 mile-tall mountain near a crater named Goldschmidt. ThoughtCo. Sally Ride garnered a number of honors and awards throughout her outstanding career. While at UCSD, Sally Ride noted that very few women were taking her physics classes. Former president Barack Obama awarded Dr. Ride the Presidential Medal of Freedom and stated that Dr. Ride was a national hero and a powerful role model. Her tennis skills helped cinch her spot on the space shuttle. She showed that women were as mentally and physically capable as men and that they were able to... See full answer below. She was a good student with a fondness for science and math. Her parents recognized this early interest as well and supplied their young daughter with a chemistry set and telescope. The program gave students in American classrooms the opportunity to control a camera on the space shuttle by requesting specific photographs of Earth. There are very few famous astronauts, but Sally Ride is one of them and in this lesson you'll learn why. Twice she received the NASA Space Flight Award. The impact site is named for America's first woman in space, Dr. Sally Ride, whose education and public outreach program lead the GRAIL mission's MoonKAM effort. As the first American woman in space, Sally Ride faced often ridiculous displays of sexism. Among them were Mars exploration and an outpost on the Moon. Even aft… Additionally, Kate Sullivan became the first woman to conduct a spacewalk, spending over three hours outside the Challenger conducting a satellite refueling demonstration. Sally Ride had a profound impact on American society. Sally Ride thought she’d grow up to be a physics professor, and she did. undeniable the impact Sally Ride made in the NASA space program but also in the classroom for many young students. During the next four years, Sally Ride would prepare for her first assignment on mission STS-7 (Space Transport System) aboard the space shuttle Challenger. Then, in 1987, Sally Ride produced “Leadership and America’s Future in Space: A Report to the Administrator," commonly known as the Ride Report, detailing suggested future focuses for NASA. With EarthKAM’s success, Sally Ride was bolstered to find other avenues to bring science to youth and the public.