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
After the Challenger accident, NASA put in a lot of time to improve the safety of the space shuttle to fix the things that had gone wrong.
The rockets light! The shuttle leaps off the launch pad in a cloud of steam and a trail of fire.
We can see cities during the day and at night, and we can watch rivers dump sediment into the ocean, and see hurricanes form.
I think maybe it's too bad that our society isn't further along and this is such a big deal. I think it's time...that people realize that women in this country can do any job they want to do.
I liked math - that was my favorite subject - and I was very interested in astronomy and in physical science.
On a standard space shuttle crew, two of the astronauts have a test pilot background - the commander and the pilot.
No, I think most astronauts recognize that the space shuttle program is very high-risk, and are prepared for accidents.
I felt very honored, and I knew that people would be watching very closely, and I felt it was very, very important that I do a good job.
It's well known that many girls have a tendency to dumb down when they're in middle school.
NASA has to approve whatever we wear, so there are clothes to choose from, like space shorts - we wear those a lot - and NASA T-shirts.
I didn't really decide that I wanted to be an astronaut for sure until the end of college.
It's easy to sleep floating around - it's very comfortable. But you have to be careful that you don't float into somebody or something!
But when I wasn't working, I was usually at a window looking down at Earth.
It's no secret that I've been reluctant to use my name for things.