On June 18, 1983, Sally Ride etched her name into the history books by becoming the first American woman to journey into space. Flying as the mission specialist aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger, Ride played a key role in a mission that had some ambitious goals — deploying the first data and tracking relay satellite and carrying out a series of scientific experiments focused on radiation, weather, and weightlessness. While the Challenger would later suffer a devastating catastrophic failure and explode in 1986, the 1983 missions, including the one that carried Sally Ride, were considered highly successful.

A trailblazer in every sense, Sally Ride shattered numerous barriers for women in the world of space exploration. She was a remarkably accomplished scientist, holding four degrees — among them a PhD in Physics from Stanford University. But her contributions extended well beyond the laboratory and the cockpit. Ride was also a science educator, an author, and an athlete who poured her energy into championing STEM education in schools and pushing to bring more females into science and math. Over the course of her career, she flew on two space missions: the first aboard the Challenger in 1983 and the second on the Challenger again in 1984.

Fun Facts about Sally Ride:

  • While she holds the distinction of being the first American woman in space, two women from other countries got there before her. Cosmonauts Valentina Tereshkova in 1963 and Svetlana Savitskaya in 1982 both made it to space ahead of Sally Ride.
  • What inspired her to pursue a career as an astronaut? She spotted an ad in her school newspaper and decided to apply.
  • Ride was a gifted athlete who played tennis and softball, and she even harbored dreams of playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
  • Beyond being the first American woman in space, she also claimed the title of youngest person to travel to space — she was just 32 years old!
  • Sally Ride is recognized as the first acknowledged gay astronaut, a fact that only came to light after her death in 2012. Tam O'Shaughnessy, her partner of 27 years, accepted the Presidential Medal of Freedom that was posthumously awarded on her behalf.
  • Two elementary schools in the United States bear Sally Ride's name in her honor.