Sally Ride gay
Sally Ride was the first woman from the United States to travel to space. Her historic voyage occurred on June eighteenth, nineteen eighty-three. Throughout her lifetime, Dr. Ride overcame many obstacles and endeavored to ensure girls and women also received encouragement to pursue similar achievements.
Sally Kristen Ride came into this world on May twenty-sixth, nineteen fifty-one, in Encino, California, daughter to Carol Joyce and Dale Burdell Ride. While they were growing up, Sally and her sibling had encouragement to cultivate their unique passions, and they were part of a content, affectionate family environment.
During her childhood years, Ride enjoyed tennis and imagined turning pro. At the age of ten, she began to play tennis, and she subsequently received a Westlake School for Girls in Los Angeles grant. While still a teenager, Ride attained a top twenty national ranking on the junior circuit for tennis. After graduating from secondary school, she went to Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania. During her second year there, she left Swarthmore to chase a career in tennis. After a period of three months, she concluded that pursuing a college education constituted a better path for her future; she then matriculated at Stanford University. In nineteen seventy-three, she earned a Bachelor of Science in physics along with a Bachelor of Arts in English. She remained at Stanford, where she obtained her Master of Science and doctorate in physics in nineteen seventy-five and nineteen seventy-eight, correspondingly.
Back in 1977, Ride responded to an advertisement in the newspaper by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). NASA, in realizing the vital importance of technological and scientific expertise for the Space Program's trajectory, equally as crucial as having skilled pilots, started looking for young scientists capable of acting as "mission specialists" for upcoming space voyages. Ride was among a mere five women chosen for NASA's class of '78. Her innate athletic prowess turned out to be a significant asset as she went through training with NASA during 1977. Training in water survival and parachute jumping was combined with her technical and scientific instruction.
Ride was included among the five crew members present aboard the space shuttle known as Challenger STS-7. She achieved the distinction of becoming the very first American female in space on June 18, 1983, also, at the time, the youngest American to journey into space. The entire mission lasted one week. Leading up to her launch, Dr. Ride participated in multiple interviews regarding her preparations for the space voyage. In addition to queries concerning the nature of her training, questions arose regarding the potential effects of space on her reproductive capabilities, as well as the specific types of makeup that she planned to bring for the mission. She handled these questions gracefully; later, she remarked, 'It's unfortunate that it is such a significant matter. It's unfortunate that our society hasn't progressed further along.'
During the course of the mission, Ride served in the role of flight engineer. Her responsibilities included deploying a pair of communication satellites, controlling the shuttle's mechanical arm, and performing various experiments. During a two thousand and eight interview, Ride recalled, 'On the day of the launch, there was a tremendous level of excitement alongside a lot happening around us within the crew quarters, even while we made our way to the launch pad. At that precise moment, I wasn't giving it a great deal of thought; however, I've come to realize the immense honor of being selected to get the opportunity to venture into space for the first time."
Ride embarked on a subsequent shuttle mission, STS-41G, which commenced on October fifth, nineteen eighty-four. For a duration of eight days, she dedicated her efforts to conducting scientific observations concerning Earth. Furthermore, she was involved in developing techniques for refueling the shuttles. After her second mission concluded, Ride dedicated her efforts towards probing into the 1986 Challenger catastrophe. Following the conclusion of the investigation, she transitioned into the role of special assistant to the NASA administrator, with a focus on strategic and long-range planning.
Ride took on the responsibilities of Director within the California Space Science Institute, acting as a research institute affiliated with the University of California. Furthermore, she was gainfully employed as a physicist as well as a professor of physics while working at the University of California, San Diego. Ride held a position as a member of the President's Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology and furthermore contributed her expertise on the Advisory Board pertaining to the National Women's History Museum.
She passed away on July twenty-third, two thousand twelve, subsequent to a seventeen-month confrontation involving pancreatic cancer. She was sixty-one years in age. During the course of her lifetime, Ride chose to maintain discretion regarding her personal matters. She entered into matrimony with Steve Hawley, an astronaut colleague, during nineteen eighty-two; nonetheless, they reached a divorce settlement in nineteen eighty-seven. Subsequent to her passing, Tam O'Shaughnessy spoke candidly with respect to their twenty-seven-year connection. The pair initially crossed paths as young children while participating in tennis competitions; they upheld a close amity, and that friendship developed into love. Ride and O'Shaughnessy openly acknowledged their relationship both as life partners and as partners in business, most notably as Ride's life came to an end. Ride holds distinction not just as the first American female in space, but furthermore as the pioneering openly gay astronaut. Back in two thousand and thirteen, President Obama posthumously bestowed upon Ride the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and O'Shaughnessy was the one who accepted it.
Dr. Sally Ride felt passionately regarding improving science education together with supporting young women and girls to nurture an interest in science. One of her initiatives was Imaginary Lines, which lends its support to girls displaying an interest in mathematics, science, and technology. Furthermore, she put her pen to seven books intended for children, all centered around themes of space exploration. Together with O'Shaughnessy, she brought Sally Ride Science to life, a non-profit organization with the mission of encouraging children hailing from all kinds of backgrounds to build interest regarding science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). Sally Ride's legacy carries on inspiring individuals to strive for their dreams even after she is gone.
'An Interview with Sally Ride - YouTube.' Nova. PBS. 1984. Accessed August 7, 2018.
Ryan, Michael 'A Ride in Space.' PEOPLE.com. Accessed August 9, 2018.
'About Dr. Sally Ride - Sally Ride Science.' Accessed August 7, 2018.
Blank on Blank. Sally Ride on Dumb Questions | Blank on Blank. Interview with Gloria Steinem. 1983.Accessed August 3, 2018.
'Breaking In: Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, & Mathematics - Google Arts & Culture.' Google Cultural Institute. Accessed August 2, 2018.
'Dr. Sally K. Ride: First American Woman in Space | Smithsonian Institution.' Accessed August 7, 2018.
Garcia, Mark. 'Sally Ride - First American Woman in Space.' Text. NASA, June 13, 2018.
O'Shaugnessy, Tam. 'From Girlhood Pals To Life Partners: Tam O'Shaughnessy Reflects On Her Relationship With Astronaut Sally Ride.' Huffington Post (blog), November 7, 2017.
'Sally Ride | Astronaut.' Solar System Exploration: NASA Science. Accessed August 7, 2018.
Sherr, Lynn. Sally Ride: America's First Woman in Space. Simon and Schuster, 2015.
Boyle, Allen 'Why Sally Ride Waited until Her Death to Tell the World She Was Gay - NBC News.' Accessed August 7, 2018.
Wiscombe, Janet. 'COVER STORY : Private Property : Ask Sally Ride About Her Research. Or Her Program to Revolutionize Science Education in America. But Skip the Queries on the Glory of Space Travel, and Don't Even Think About Anything Personal.' Los Angeles Times, August 29, 1999.
'Women@NASA » Women@NASA Honors Sally Ride.' Accessed August 9, 2018.
APA: Anderson, A. (2018, August 16). Sally Ride. Retrieved from https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/sally-ride
MLA: Anderson, Ashlee. Sally Ride. 16 Aug. 2018, www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/sally-ride.
Chicago: Anderson, Ashlee. "Sally Ride." August 16, 2018. https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/sally-ride.