By Sebastian C. Romero, Assistant Entertainment Editor
From having dreams on Earth to fulfilling them in space, Sally Ride became the first American woman to fly in space as an astronaut on the space shuttle crew in 1983. She was the third woman ever to reach space, shining down hope on future female scientists. But who was she before these events happened?
Sally Kristen Ride was born on May 26, 1951, in Encino, Calif. Growing up she and her sisters were encouraged to follow their individual dreams and interests. They had a happy, and loving home. As a kid, Ride was a passionate tennis player and had dreams of becoming a professional. She started playing tennis at the age of 10 and later eventually won a scholarship to Westlake School for Girls in Los Angeles. While in her teen years, Ride was ranked in the top 20 nationally on the junior tennis circuit. After she graduated from high school, she attended a Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania, and she was there until her sophomore year when she left the college to pursue a career in tennis. After three months, she determined college was a better option for her in the long run and enrolled at Stanford University. In 1973, she received a Bachelor of Science in physics, and also a Bachelor of Arts in English. She continued at Stanford, earning her a Master of Science and doctorate degrees in physics from 1975 to 1978.
In 1977, Ride answered a newspaper advertisement, placed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Knowing that technological and scientific skills would be important for the future of the world, and also the future of the U.S. Space Program to make them good pilots, NASA began a search for young scientists to serve as mission specialists on future space flight. Ride was one of the five women selected for NASA of ‘78. Ride’s natural athletic ability was an amazing asset as she trained with NASA in 1977. Training like parachute jumping and water survival, coupled her technical and scientific instruction. Ride was one of five crew members aboard the space shuttle Challenger STS-7. On June 18, 1983, she became the first American woman to be in space and also the youngest American in space at that time. The mission only took a week to complete. But before her launch in space, Ride was interviewed several times about her preparation for going to space. Among questions about her training capabilities, she was also asked how space would affect her ability to reproduce, and what kind of makeup she was going to take on the mission. She handled those questions gracefully and later said, quote: “It’s too bad this is such a big deal. It’s too bad our society isn’t further along.”
Ride passed away on July 23, 2012, after a 17-month battle against pancreatic cancer, she was 61. Not only was she the first American woman to go into space, but she was also acknowledged as the first gay astronaut. In 2013, President Obama honored Ride posthumously with the Presidential Medal of Freedom for inspiring young girls to pursue careers in math and science.