Sally Ride
Sally Ride
Sally Kristen Ridewas an American physicist and astronaut. Born in Los Angeles, she joined NASA in 1978 and became the first American woman in space in 1983. She remains the youngest American astronaut to have traveled to space, having done so at the age of 32. After flying twice on the Orbiter Challenger, she left NASA in 1987. She worked for two years at Stanford University's Center for International Security and Arms Control, then at the University of California, San...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionAstronaut
Date of Birth26 May 1951
CityLos Angeles, CA
CountryUnited States of America
When the space shuttle's engines cut off, and you're finally in space, in orbit, weightless... I remember unstrapping from my seat, floating over to the window, and that's when I got my first view of Earth. Just a spectacular view, and a chance to see our planet as a planet.
I slept just floating in the middle of the flight deck, the upper deck of the space shuttle.
Suppose you came across a woman lying on the street with an elephant sitting on her chest. You notice she is short of breath. Shortness of breath can be a symptom of heart problems. In her case, the much more likely cause is the elephant on her chest. For a long time, society put obstacles in the way of women who wanted to enter the sciences. That is the elephant. Until the playing field has veen leveled and lingering stereotypes are gone, you can't even ask the question.
The food isn't too bad. It's very different from the food that the astronauts ate in the very early days of the space program.
Rocket science is tough, and rockets have a way of failing.
I do a lot of running and hiking, and I also collect stamps - space stamps and Olympics stamps.
My background is in physics, so I was the mission specialist, who is sort of like the flight engineer on an airplane.
But even in elementary school and junior high, I was very interested in space and in the space program.
You know, I go around the country a lot.
It takes a few years to prepare for a space mission.
Science is fun. Science is curiosity. We all have natural curiosity. Science is a process of investigating. It's posing questions and coming up with a method. It's delving in.
If it wasn't for the women's movement, I wouldn't be where I am today.
I haven't written my memoirs or let the television movie be made about my life.
I had both male and female heroes.