Sally Ride was the very first american woman to go into space. She was super awesome, and was a true champion. She inspired me to achieve my goals, no matter how crazy. In fact, if they’re crazy, that’s a bonus! Maybe she will inspire you. She was a really great person, and an even greater role model. Hopefully, there will be other people like her. She really is a gem!  As you will learn, hoping is the start to succeeding! So… hope your heart out!

Sally was really smart and active! She went to a lot of schools, and got great education. She even got a Ph.D.! She was a straight-A student. She also was active, and played a bunch of sports. She loved science and math. She even made a website(co-founded by Tam O’Shaughnessy) , Sally Ride Science, for people,especially girls,to love or keep loving science and math!  She also also enjoyed stamp collecting. She also got a lot of awards for doing what she did. She was inducted in the National Women’s Hall of Fame and the Astronaut’s Hall of Fame And has received the Jefferson Award for Public Service, the von Braun Award, the Lindbergh Eagle, and the NCAA’s Theodore Roosevelt Award. She has twice been awarded the NASA Space Medal!

Dr. Ride graduated from Westlake High School in 1968. She also received  a Bachelor of Science in Physics, a Bachelor of Arts in English, and a Master of Science and Doctorate in Physics from Stanford University.If you ever hear someone say “All adventures, especially those into new territory, are scary” or “The stars don’t look bigger, but they do look brighter”. She wrote a bunch of famous quotes. If your ever sad or need inspiration, just read one her wonderfully written quotes, and you’ll surely either feel better or get creative! You also could read one of her books. She wrote some science books too. She wrote: To Space And Back, Voyager, The Third Planet, The Mystery Of Mars, and Exploring Our Solar System. She played some awesome sports like: running, tennis, volleyball, and softball.

In January,1978, Dr. Ride was chosen a astronaut candidate by NASA. She was going to be the very first american woman to go to space. It was a huge honor! She went on the STS-7 on June 18, 1983. (The Challenger was the space shuttle that blew up 2 years later, which would be 1985.) It also was going to be the first flight with a five-person crew. Dr. Ride also served as a mission specialist on STS 41-G, which launched from Kennedy Space Center on October 5, 1984. In 2 years, she made two flights to the moon. That’s amazing! Proves how awesome she is!

During the first flight, Sally Ride flew with: Robert L. Crippen, Fredrick H. Hauk, James M. Fabian, and Norman E. Fagard. During the second flight she flew with: Robert L. Crippen, Jon A. McBride, Kathryn D. Sullivan, David C Leestima, Marc Garneau, and Paul Scully-Power. As you can see, there are more people in the second group. (First group: 5, second group: 8) So far, that is the flight with the most people in the world! Dr. Ride was going to go on a third trip to space, but she didn’t. Lynn Sherr wrote a book on her, called  Sally Ride: America’s First Woman In Space. Lynn was a friend of Sally’s for a long time. Sally also was friends with Tam O’Shaughnessy for 27 years. Tam and Sally made Sally Ride Science together!

Sally Ride bravely rode a space shuttle that would,in a later version,blow-up. She was in the space ship hat had the most people in it. She died of cancer. Dr. Ride was pretty brave! She got a lot of awards for it, too! Being the first american woman in history to go to space is a really big deal. She didn’t believe in all that “boy stuff” and “girl stuff”. She really stood out in women. She was brave, smart, active, poetic, and inspiring! It’s no wonder she was a straight-A student!

Sally Ride took huge step for women rights! As they say, “One small step for woman, one big step for women-kind”! Or at least something like that. Anyway, she changed history, for the better. Thanks to Sally Ride, women have more rights than they used to! She did even more, too! Dr.Ride directed exiting science projects for middle school students. Imagine having the first american lady in space visit your school! Sally Ride did a lot to improve our community! Hopefully She will be remembered forever!

Sally Ride was a beautiful person! She is only one of the many, many people who stood up for the rights of women. Please remember her, and tell her story to your children and friends. Her love to live life should be remembered for forever! When you walk away, hopefully you care more about how far people have come. If you want life to get better, make it better! Don’t wait for others to do what you can do! Dr. Ride is one of those who did something, and you should too! So remember: if you start believing, that already makes it possible!