Sally ride biography timeline example
Sally Ride was born in Encino, California. She had a strong interest in science, even as a young girl. Her parents encouraged her academic studies throughout her childhood and adolescence.
By 1977, Sally Ride had completed degrees in English and physics at Stanford University in California. She was in the process of completing a PhD in physics when NASA asked for female applicants to the astronaut program.
In January, 1978, Sally Ride was chosen as one of 35 successful applicants from a pool of 8000 women who wanted to become astronauts. She began her astronaut training later that year.
In May of the same year, Sally Ride completed her PhD in physics. She worked specifically on the interactions between X-rays and interstellar media.
Sally Ride began astronaut training along with other women chosen in August 1978. During training, the astronauts went through flight training, water survival, weightlessness, and training in navigation and communications.
By August, 1979, Sally Ride had completed astronaut training. She was assigned to a planned 1983 space mission, STS-7 scheduled for 1983. She would serve as mission specialist.
The space shuttle Challenger launched with Sally Ride aboard as mission specialist on June 18, 1983. She was the first American woman to go into space. The mission was successful. Ride described the experience as the most fun she would ever have in her life.
On Ride's second space flight, she was one of a crew of seven, along with another female astronaut. The Challenger successfully landed after a 197 hour mission.
Less than a year after her last flight
Who Was Sally Ride? (Grades K-4)
This article is for students k-4.
Sally Ride was the first American woman to fly in space. For fun, she liked to run. She also played tennis, volleyball and softball. Ride wrote science books for children. The books are about exploring space.
Sally Ride was born May 26, 1951, in California. After high school, she went to Stanford University in California. She earned degrees in physics. Physics is a type of science.
NASA began looking for women astronauts in 1977. Sally Ride was a student at the time. She saw an ad in the school newspaper inviting women to apply to the astronaut program. Sally Ride decided to apply for the job. She was one of six women picked!
On June 18, 1983, Sally Ride became the first American woman to fly in space. She was an astronaut on a space shuttle mission. Her job was to work the robotic arm. She used the arm to help put satellites into space. She flew on the space shuttle again in 1984.
Ride stopped working for NASA in 1987. She started teaching at the University of California in San Diego. She started looking for ways to help women and girls who wanted to study science and mathematics. She came up with the idea for NASA’s EarthKAM project. EarthKAM lets middle school students take pictures of Earth using a camera on the International Space Station. Students then study the pictures.
In 2003, Ride was added to the Astronaut Hall of Fame. The Astronaut Hall of Fame honors astronauts for their hard work.
Until her death on July 23, 2012, Ride continued to help students – especially girls -study science and mathematics. She wrote science books and other things for students and teachers. She worked with science programs and festivals around the United States.
Video: Sally Ride Anniversary
Read Who Was Sally Ride? (Grades 5-8)
Early Life
Sally grew up in Los Angeles, California. As a child, Sally loved science and her parents encouraged her by giving her a chemistry set and a telescope. Sally studied English and physics at Stanford University. She stayed at Stanford to study for a master’s degree and a PhD. Sally's research was on how x-rays behaved in the interstellar medium. The interstellar medium is the stuff between the stars.
At Stanford, Sally saw a job advert in a newspaper. NASA were looking for scientists and engineers to be astronauts. Sally applied and in 1978 NASA accepted her onto their training programme. This was the first time NASA had allowed women to become astronauts. Over 8000 people applied and Sally was one of 35 trainees chosen.
Career Highlights
Sally completed her NASA training in 1979. At first she worked as a spacecraft communicator, also known as ‘CAPCOM’. CAPCOM is the person in mission control who talks to the astronauts in space. Sally was the first female CAPCOM. Sally also helped to develop a robot arm for NASA’s Space Shuttle programme.
In 1983, Sally became the first American woman to travel to space. At the age of 32, she was also the youngest American astronaut. Sally travelled on the Space Shuttle Challenger. Her job on the mission was to operate the robotic arm and launch satellites. In 1984, Sally travelled on the Challenger again. This was the first ever NASA flight to have two female astronauts on board. In total, Sally spent more than 343 hours in space.
In 1986, Sally was preparing to fly to space again when the Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart shortly after take-off. The disaster killed all 7 crew members on board. Sally was part of the team that looked into the cause of the disaster. She also authored an influential report on NASA’s future called ‘The Ride Report.
Sally left NASA in 1987. She worked at Stanford University and taught at University of California, San Diego. Sally was also director of the University of Californ
Sally Ride
American physicist and astronaut (1951–2012)
For other uses, see Sally Ride (disambiguation).
Sally Ride | |
|---|---|
Ride in 1984 | |
| Born | Sally Kristen Ride (1951-05-26)May 26, 1951 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Died | July 23, 2012(2012-07-23) (aged 61) La Jolla, California, U.S. |
| Education | Swarthmore College University of California, Los Angeles Stanford University (BA, BS, MS, PhD) |
| Spouse | Steven Hawley (m. 1982; div. 1987) |
| Partner | Tam O'Shaughnessy (1985–2012) |
| Awards | Presidential Medal of Freedom (2013, posthumous) |
| Space career | |
Time in space | 14d 7h 46m |
| Selection | NASA Group 8 (1978) |
| Missions | |
Mission insignia | |
| Retirement | August 15, 1987 |
Sally Kristen Ride (May 26, 1951 – July 23, 2012) was an American astronaut and physicist. Born in Los Angeles, she joined NASA in 1978, and in 1983 became the first American woman and the third woman to fly in space, after cosmonautsValentina Tereshkova in 1963 and Svetlana Savitskaya in 1982. She was the youngest American astronaut to have flown in space, having done so at the age of 32.
Ride was a graduate of Stanford University, where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in physics and a Bachelor of Arts degree in English literature in 1973, a Master of Science degree in 1975, and a Doctor of Philosophy in 1978 (both in physics) for research on the interaction of X-rays with the interstellar medium. She was selected as a mission specialist astronaut with NASA Astronaut Group 8, the first class of NASA astronauts to include women. After completing her training in 1979, she served as the ground-based capsule communicator (CapCom) for the second and third Space Shuttle flights, and helped develop the Space Shuttle's robotic arm. In June 1983, she flew in space on the Space Shuttle Challenger on the STS-7 mission. The mission deployed two communications satellites and the fi