Sally Ride Science

Anniversary Sally Ride's Historic Spaceflight

June 18 marks the anniversary of the day Sally Ride blasted off aboard shuttle Challenger to become America’s first woman in space. By breaking NASA’s gender barrier – and later championing equity in science education – Ride inspired girls and young people from diverse backgrounds to blaze trails in STEM fields that previously had seemed off-limits to them.

Shattering NASA’s Glass Ceiling

When Sally Ride became the first American woman in space on June 18, 1983, she changed the face of NASA and inspired generations. Before her historic Challenger launch, U.S. astronauts were almost exclusively male military pilots, despite Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova breaking the barrier in 1963.

Ride discovered NASA’s first call for women astronauts while finishing her Stanford PhD in 1977 and immediately applied. Out of more than 8,000 candidates, she was chosen as one of six women in a new class of 35 trainees. Known for her intellect, athleticism, and calm under pressure, Ride excelled in rigorous training and even helped develop the shuttle’s robotic arm.

Selected for mission STS-7, Ride trained for over a year with her four male crewmates. At 32, she became not only the first American woman but also the youngest American in space, deploying and retrieving satellites and conducting experiments during the six-day flight.

Her trailblazing journey proved that women belonged in space and inspired countless girls to dream beyond Earth.

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Instant Celebrity

In the runup to her historic flight, Sally Ride suddenly found herself the focus of a media frenzy. She appeared on the covers of Newsweek, People and Ms. Magazine. Reporters peppered her with sexist questions, but she managed to respond with humor and grace. During one news conference she was asked, “Do you weep when things go wrong on the job?” Ride laughed and gestured to her crewmate Rick Hauck, replying, “Why don’t people ask Rick those questions?”

Changing Faces of the Astronaut Corps

NASA’s first group of astronauts – the Mercury 7, chosen in 1959 – was made up of white male military pilots. The idea was that astronauts needed to be macho men with “the Right Stuff,” and no women need apply. For almost two decades, the astronaut corps remained completely male and white and overwhelmingly military.

With the advent of the space shuttle program, NASA needed scientists to go into space. The space agency also made a conscious decision to recruit women and people of color. The astronaut class of 1978 included scientists and engineers as well as military pilots. Among the recruits were Sally Ride and five other women, as well as Black and Asian American men.

This progress toward diversity continues at NASA. The most recent astronaut class, announced in 2021, boasts a robust mix of women and men from diverse backgrounds.

In Her Own Words

Here's how Sally Ride described her first spaceflight

Before the Launch

As we drove toward the launchpad, the shuttle looked quiet and peaceful. But when we got there and stepped out of the van, I could hear it hissing and crackling as though it were alive.

Liftoff

Once the rockets lit, the shuttle leaped upward in a cloud of steam and a trail of fire. Inside the ride was rough and loud. My head rattled around inside my helmet; my body bounced against my seat. I could barely hear the voices in my headset above the roar of the rockets.

Entering Orbit

It felt like my arms were made of lead. The notebook on my lap seemed to weigh a ton. Then suddenly, the shuttle engines stopped. The lead in my arms vanished. My arms were lighter than air, and my notebook floated up in front of my face. I was in space.

Back to Earth

I started to feel heavier and heavier as gravity slowly pulled me into my seat. It was hard to lift my hand or hold my head up. Outside the windows, the shuttle was engulfed in a fiery orange glow as we blazed through the air.

Inspiring the Next Generation

After Sally Ride returned to Earth from her historic flight, NASA sent her traveling around the country for a series of speaking engagements. Sometimes her audiences included young girls. Ride didn’t always enjoy being in the spotlight – she was a private person. But she loved talking to young people, and she soon realized that seeing a woman in the role of an astronaut had a huge impact on girls.

Ride knew all too well that women were underrepresented in science careers. After she retired from NASA, she and her life partner, Tam O’Shaughnessy, became concerned about research showing that girls tend to lose interest in science in middle school and high school. This happens because of stereotypes about what girls are good at and who can be a scientist.

In 2001, Ride decided to use her influence as a role model to encourage girls and students from diverse backgrounds to study science and to consider careers in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math). She and O’Shaughnessy joined with three friends to found Sally Ride Science. They held science festivals across the country, published dozens of books and trained hundreds of teachers. Their efforts helped jumpstart the national conversation about the need to promote diversity in STEM fields. Today Sally Ride Science continues to offer innovative STEM programs as part of UC San Diego’s Division of Extended Studies.

Following In Sally Ride’s Footsteps

As America’s first woman in space, Sally Ride became an inspiration to girls and women aiming for careers in science and space exploration. Many of today’s female astronauts and scientists cite her as an inspiration.

Ellen Ochoa

After Ride’s death in 2012, a group of female astronauts gathered for the dedication of a tree in her memory in Astronaut Memorial Grove at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. Ellen Ochoa, the first Hispanic woman in space, later described the scene.

"As we went around the table, just about every single woman in the astronaut office, current and former, had been personally affected by Sally. As much in demand as she was, she always made time to meet with young women who dreamed of becoming astronauts."

Laurie Leshin

Planetary scientist Laurie Leshin became the first female director of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in 2022. In a recent interview she talked about her career inspirations.

"The late Sally Ride is one of my heroines. I met her while I was a young professor at Arizona State University, and she became a friend and mentor. I was impressed by how she used her role, as the first U.S. woman to fly into space, to help advance other young scientists. I hope to do something similar in my new job."

Catherine Coleman

When Catherine “Cady” Coleman was a student at MIT, she heard a speech by Ride, and she remembers thinking, “Wow, she seems to be somebody just like me. Maybe I could be that, too.” Coleman earned her PhD in polymer science and engineering and became an Air Force officer before joining the astronaut corps and completing three space missions.