Sally Kristen Ride is well known not only as the youngest person ever sent into orbit but is also the first American woman to be sent into outer space. She has received many honors and medals for her work as an astronaut, and for her commitment to educating and improving the young. She is a well known American physicist. In an attempt to improve science education, Sally has written and/or contributed on five children's books - Exploring Our Solar Systems, The Mystery of Mars, The Third Planet: Exploring The Earth from Space, Voyager: An Adventure to the Edge of the Solar System, To Space and Back.
Ride is a hero at bringing the exhilaration of science into the classroom. Today, some children never experience a full-blast feeling of discovery. Ride teaches children to go for it.
On May 26, 1951, she was born in Los Angeles, California. During childhood, Sally desired to be a professional tennis player and, at one point of time, she became a ranked player on the junior tennis circuit. She studied at Stanford University where she attained four degrees - Ph.D. in Physics, Masters Degree in Physics, Bachelor of Science Degree in Physics and Bachelor of Arts degree in English. In 1978, she was accepted into the astronaut corps and in 1979, she completed her training as a mission specialist. During that same time, NASA was searching for dynamic young scientists to be "mission specialists" on space flights. Sally applied and got selected. Out of eight thousand applicants, she was one of only thirty-five selected candidates. As part of her training, she had to study basic computers, navigation, meteorology guidance, maths and science. She was also selected to be a part of the ground-support crew for the second and third shuttle flights. These trainings prepared her to be an astronaut.
In 1987, Dr. Sally Ride retired from NASA to become a science Fellow at the Center for International Security and Arms Control at Stanford University. Later, she became the Professor of Physics at the University of California and also a director of the California Space Institute. In 1999, Sally joined a website about the space industry (space.com) as an Executive Vice President. She also initiated an Internet-based project named Earth KAM, where students can download photos of the earth from space. She established an organization, Sally Ride Science, that supports girls who are or are interested in technology, maths and science.
Sally Ride has earned several awards during her lifetime such as National Spaceflight Medal, Jefferson Award for Public Service, and many more. She has also been included into the Astronaut Hall of Fame and the National Woman's Hall of Fame.
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