May 26, 2017
Today is Sally Ride Day, a holiday dedicated to the achievements of the late American astronaut and astrophysicist Dr. Sally Ride. May 26, 2017 would have been her 66th birthday according to amyssmartgirls.com.
Ride was born in Los Angeles, California and showed an interest in science and athletics early in her life. She attended Stanford University in Northern California and earned two bachelor’s degrees in both English and physics and went on to receive her master’s and Ph.D, as well. While completing her education, Ride applied to NASA and was selected to participate in their training program. In 1983, she became the first American woman in space flying aboard the space shuttle Challenger and entered into space for a second time the following year. When Sally Ride blasted into space, American activist Gloria Steinem was quoted as saying, “Millions of little girls are going to sit by their television sets and see they can be astronauts, heroes, explorers and scientists.” While Sally Ride was the youngest American and the first American woman in space, Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova was the first woman to fly to space in June of 1963.
After retiring from NASA, Sally Ride became a professor of physics as well as the director of the California Space Institute located at the University of California San Diego. She won many honors for her contributions to her field including the National Space Society’s von Braun Award, the Presidential Medal of Freedom (posthumously in 2013) and was twice honored with the NASA Space Flight Medal. In 2001, Ride founded her own company to, according to SallyRideScience.com, “pursue her long-time passion for motivating young girls and boys to stick with their interests in science and to consider pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering, and math.”
When Ride passed away in 2012 after a battle with pancreatic cancer, her obituary noted that she was survived by her mother, her sister, her partner Dr. Tam O’Shaughnessy, who serves as the chief operating officer of Sally Ride Science.
Who are some women who have inspired you in the fields of science, engineering, math and science?
Image: Sally Ride Astronaut - NASA.gov
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