Sally Ride was an astronaut and physicist who became the first American woman to go to space (and was only the third woman in the world to do so). She is also the first known astronaut to have been part of the LGBT+ community. She spent more than 343 hours in space.
Sally Kristen Ride was born to Dale and Carol Ride on the 26th of May 1951 in Los Angeles, California. She had a sister named Karen. Sally was very interested in science when she grew up, but she was also a proficient tennis player and even took some time away from college to compete in the sport professionally. She studied physics at the University of California, then attended Stanford University where she earned a bachelor’s degree in physics and English, then a master’s and a PhD in physics. She later went on to specialise in astrophysics and free electron lasers.
In 1978, Sally was one of only 35 people (and only 6 women) chosen to be part of NASA Astronaut Group 8. This was the first NASA Astronaut Group to to select women, and had received over 8000 applicants. Once she graduated, she worked as a mission specialist for NASA and was part of their CapCom (capsule communicator) team that helped monitor the second and third Space Shuttle flights from the ground.
Sally married Steven Hawley in 1982. Hawley was also an astronaut with NASA, and the pair divorced five years later.
When Sally was selected for the STS-7 Space Shuttle flight she received a lot of blatantly sexist attention from the media and the public due to her gender but she refused to let it stop her from achieving her dream of going to space. She became the first American woman in space on the 18th of June 1983 aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger, where it was her job to work the Shuttle’s robotic arm (which she had helped design). She would crew the same Space Shuttle again the following year in her second trip to space. After the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster happened, Sally was appointed to the Rogers Commission to investigate the accident. She ran the Commission’s subcommittee on operations. Sally was then moved to NASA’s D.C. base, where she began the organisation’s first strategic planning endeavours and established the Office of Exploration within NASA.
Sally left NASA in 1987 and began working at Stanford University’s Center for International Security and Arms Control, then left Stanford two years later to teach physics at the University of California and direct the California Space Institute. After a few years in this position, she began working with NASA once more, heading their ISS EarthKAM and GRAIL MoonKAM outreach programs that let middle school children take pictures of the moon and the Earth in space. In 2001, she created the Sally Ride Science company which was designed to teach children – particularly girls – about space. She served as CEO and president of this company. She also authored several books that aimed to get children interested in space and science. She was part of the investigation into the Columbia Accident in 2003, making her the only person to have investigated both disasters. That year, sally was also inducted into the Astronayt Hall of Fame.
Sally Ride died on the 23rd of July 2012 after fighting pancreatic cancer for over a year. It was revealed in her obituary that she and Tam O’Shaughnessy, her childhood friend and business partner, had been together for 27 years. Their relationship was later confirmed by Karen Ride and made Sally the first lesbian astronaut.
Disclaimer: All of this information comes from my own research and knowledge, so if I have missed anything out or got something wrong please let me know and I’ll try my best to fix it. Thank you!
feminist odyssey 