People have discovered a lot
about outer space. There have been many great astronauts
like Neil Armstrong and John Glenn. But what about the
amazing women who went into space? What about those
females who risked their lives to accomplish their
dreams? Many great women have gone up into space but the
one I am writing about was the first American to go into
space, Sally Ride.
Sally Kristen Ride was born on May
26, 1951 in Los Angeles, California. When she was a
child, she wanted to be a pro athlete when she grew up.
She played softball, football, and tennis. Tennis became
her best sport. She was a nationally ranked amateur
tennis player. By her senior year at Westlake High
school, she was captain of her tennis team. When she was
at Stanford University, tennis pro Billie Jean King saw
her play. She told Sally to leave college and become a
pro tennis player. Ride decided to stay in school.
Ride's favorite subjects were math
and science. She was a member of a research team that
studied high-energy lasers. Sally chose to study for a
doctorate in physics which took about five years. Ride
finished her doctoral work in 1978.
Ride also joined NASA (National
Aeronautics and Space Administration) in 1978. She was
first a capsule communicator for Space Shuttle flights
STS-2 and STS-3. That means that she talked to the
shuttle crew from Mission Control while they were in
space. Sally was so good at that job and everything else
that she did that NASA decided she would be the first
American woman to go into space. Immediately, Sally Ride
became a celebrity.
Shuttle flight STS-7 departed from
Earth on June 18th, 1983, with Sally Ride aboard. Her job
on the shuttle was flight engineer. That meant that she
was in charge of making sure that the shuttle's
mechanical systems were performing properly. She also had
to explain problems to commander Robert Crippen. This
shuttle's mission purpose was to put two satellites from
Canada and Indonesia into orbit around the Earth. After
doing this successfully. Sally Ride and her fellow
astronauts returned to Earth. She was now the first
American woman to go into space.
In 1984, Ride left on another
shuttle. This one was called 41-G. She also successfully
accomplished her mission on that shuttle. When she
returned to Earth, Ride moved to the administrative end
of NASA. She was assigned to issuing the "Ride Report,"
which presented new information on the upcoming flights.
After Ride had done this for a couple of years she left
NASA in 1987. She got a job teaching at Stanford. She
told of her wonderful experiences with
NASA.
Sally Ride is a role model for all
women. She shows that if you really want to do something
you can, no matter what. Ride affected many people. Most
importantly, she changed society for
women.
Follow
this link to find
out more about Sally Ride!
