On 23 July 2012, Dr Sally Ride, America’s first woman to fly into space, passed away, at age 61. On 18 June 1983, Ride achieved history, when she made her first spaceflight, aboard Space Shuttle Challenger, on its STS-7 mission. Since she was 32, during STS-7, she also was the youngest American to reach space.
"Sally Ride broke barriers with grace and professionalism – and literally changed the face of America’s space program," said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. "The nation has lost one of its finest leaders, teachers and explorers. Our thoughts and prayers are with Sally's family and the many she inspired. She will be missed, but her star will always shine brightly."
Ride returned to space on an 8-day shuttle mission, in 1984. She was nominated to a third spaceflight, but moved to a role on the Rogers Commission that investigated the Challenger disaster after that space shuttle exploded in January 1986. When the investigation was completed, she accepted a job as a special assistant to the NASA administrator for long range and strategic planning.
In 1987, Ride left NASA, to join the University of California, as a professor of physics and director of the University of California’s California Space Institute. In 2001, she founded her own company, to realize her aspiration of motivating young women to pursue careers in science and technology.
Ride graduated from high school in 1968, and enrolled at Stanford University, where she earned four degrees, including a doctorate in physics in 1978.
Ride received numerous honors and awards, during the course of her career. Remarkably, she was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame and the Astronaut Hall of Fame, and received the Jefferson Award for Public Service, the von Braun Award, the Lindbergh Eagle, and the NCAA’s Theodore Roosevelt Award.
References:
NASA
www.nasa.gov/
Wikipedia