NASA - NASA Honors Sally Ride with a National Tribute at Kennedy Center

NASA Offers Condolences on the Passing of Pioneering Astronaut Sally Ride

07.23.12

 

 

Ride's official astronaut portrait. She joined the astronaut corps in 1978. 

Credit: NASA

  

 Ride floats on the shuttle Challenger's mid-deck during her historic STS-7 flight in 1983. 

Credit: NASA
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In a space agency filled with trailblazers, Sally K. Ride was a pioneer of a different sort. The soft-spoken California physicist broke the gender barrier 29 years ago when she rode to orbit aboard space shuttle Challenger to become America’s first woman in 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."

“Sally was a personal and professional role model to me and thousands of women around the world,” said NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver. “Her spirit and determination will continue to be an inspiration for women everywhere.”

Ride’s contribution to America’s space program continued right up until her death at age 61 this week. After two trips to orbit aboard the shuttle, she went on an award-winning academic career at the University of California, San Diego, where her expertise and wisdom were widely sought on matters related to space. She holds the distinction of being the only person to serve as a member of both investigation boards following NASA’s two space shuttle accidents. She also served as a member of the Review of U.S. Human Spaceflight Plans Committee, also known as the Augustine Committee, in 2009, which informed many of the decisions about NASA’s current human spaceflight programs.

"The selection of the 1978 Astronaut Class that included Sally and several other women, had a huge impact on my dream to become an astronaut. The success of those woman, with Sally paving the way, made my dream seem one step closer to becoming a reality," said Peggy Whitson, Chief of the NASA Astronaut Office.

However, Ride’s place in history was assured on June 18, 1983, when she rocketed into space on Challenger’s STS-7 mission with four male crewmates.

“The fact that I was going to be the first American woman to go into space carried huge expectations along with it,” Ride recalled in an interview for the 25th anniversary of her flight in 2008. “That was made pretty clear the day that I was told I was selected as a crew. I was taken up to Chris Kraft’s office. He wanted to have a chat with me and make sure I knew what I was getting into before I went on the crew. I was so dazzled to be on the crew and go into space I remembered very little of what he said.”

“On launch day, there was so much excitement and so much happening around us in crew quarters, even on the way to the launch pad,” Ride said. “I didn’t really think about it that much at the time . . . but I came to appreciate what an honor it was to be selected to be the first to get a chance to go into space.”

Ride joined NASA as part of the 1978 astronaut class, the first to include women. She and five other women, along with 29 men, were selected out of 8,000 applicants. The class became known as the “Thirty-Five New Guys” and reported to the Johnson Space Center the next summer to begin training. Ride trained for five years before she and three of her classmates were assigned to STS-7. The six-day mission deployed two communications satellites and performed a number of science experiments.

Watch Ride Talk About Looking At Earth During Her Two Shuttle Missions:

Following that historic flight, Ride returned to space on another shuttle mission, STS-41G in 1984. The 8-day mission deployed the Earth Radiation Budget Satellite, conducted scientific observations of Earth, and demonstrated potential satellite refueling techniques. She was assigned to a third flight, but transitioned to a role on the Rogers Commission that investigated the Challenger accident after that shuttle was lost 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.

Ride left NASA in August 1987 to join the faculty at the University of California, San Diego, as a professor of physics and director of the University of California’s California Space Institute. In 2001, she founded her own company, Sally Ride Science, to pursue her long-time passion of motivating girls and young women to pursue careers in science, math and technology.

A native of Los Angeles, Ride graduated from high school there in 1968 and enrolled at Stanford University. At Stanford, she earned four degrees, including a doctorate in physics in 1978. She also was an accomplished athlete who played varsity tennis at Stanford after being nationally ranked as a youth.

Ride received numerous honors and awards during the course of her career. Most notably, 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.

 NASA Honors Sally Ride with a National Tribute at Kennedy Center

 

 WASHINGTON -- NASA and Sally Ride Science are inviting the general public and journalists to "Sally Ride: A Lifetime of Accomplishment, A Champion of Science Literacy," an educational tribute to America's first woman in space on Monday, May 20. The special event will be held at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, 2700 F Street, N.W., Washington, D.C., at 7 p.m. EDT.

The celebration will highlight Ride's contributions and her legacies. These include her long-time focus on education, and her passion for inspiring girls and under-represented minority students to become scientifically literate and consider pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).

The tribute will include the talents of Patti Austin, Damian Kulash of the band OK Go, Maria Shriver, Emil de Cou and Billie Jean King, with music by Tena Clark and choreography by Twyla Tharp. Talented students who will perform include the Maryland Classic Youth Orchestra, the Centreville High School Choral Union from Virginia and dancers from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, NASA Associate Administrator for Education Leland Melvin and former astronaut Pam Melroy will be among those speaking about Ride's lifetime accomplishments. The tribute is presented and sponsored by Sally Ride Science.

A limited number of tickets is available for the general public on a first-come, first-served basis. To attend the free event, complete this online RSVP Form by Wednesday, May 15. Please indicate if you need wheelchair access. Tickets for those who RSVP will be available at NASA's Will Call tables, which will be staffed in front of the Concert Hall (in the Grand Foyer) from 5 to 6:15 p.m. Monday, May 20.

Reporters, who would like to cover the event, must contact Cynthia Myers at Sally Ride Science at cindy.myers360@gmail.com or at 415-378-0294 or Allard Beutel at NASA by 3 p.m. on Friday, May 17.

The Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum and Sally Ride Science are hosting a panel discussion as a salute to Women in Science. “Sally Ride: How Her Historic Mission Opened Doors for Women in Science” will be held in the museum's Moving Beyond Earth gallery at 10:30 a.m. Friday, May 17. The panel will be broadcast live on NASA Television and the agency's website. The panel includes NASA Johnson Space Center Director and former astronaut Ellen Ochoa, Dan Vergano of USA Today, Rene McCormick of the National Math and Science Initiative, and National Air and Space Museum curator Margaret Weitekamp. The discussion is hosted by NBC News' Tom Costello.

Media interested in covering the panel discussion should contact Cynthia Myers or Isabel Lara with National Air and Space Museum media relations at 202-633-2374 or LaraI@si.edu.

For more information about Sally Ride, visit:

http://go.nasa.gov/Ocn6h7

For more information about Sally Ride Science, visit:

http://www.sallyridescience.com

For more information about the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, visit:

http://www.airandspace.si.edu

For NASA TV streaming video, schedules and downlink information, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

 

Sally K. Ride (Ph.D.)

Biographical Data

NASA Astronaut (DECEASED)

PERSONAL DATA: Born May 26, 1951, in Los Angeles, California. Died on July 23, 2012. She is survived by Tam O'Shaughnessy, her partner of 27 years; her mother, Joyce Ride; her sister, Bear; her niece, Caitlin and her nephew, Whitney. Her father, Dale B. Ride, is deceased. She enjoyed tennis (having been an instructor and having achieved national ranking as a junior), running, volleyball, softball and stamp collecting.

EDUCATION: Graduated from Westlake High School, Los Angeles, California, in 1968; received from Stanford University a Bachelor of Science in Physics and a Bachelor of Arts in English in 1973 and a Master of Science and Doctorate in Physics in 1975 and 1978, respectively.

EXPERIENCE: Dr. Ride was selected as an astronaut candidate by NASA in January 1978. In August 1979, she completed a one-year training and evaluation period, making her eligible for assignment as a Mission Specialist on future space shuttle flight crews. She subsequently performed as an on-orbit Capsule Communicator (CAPCOM) on the STS-2 and STS-3 missions.

Dr. Ride was a Mission Specialist on STS-7, which launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on June 18, 1983. She was accompanied by Captain Robert L. Crippen (spacecraft commander), Captain Frederick H. Hauck (pilot), and fellow Mission Specialists, Colonel John M. Fabian and Dr. Norman E. Thagard. This was the second flight for the orbiter Challenger and the first mission with a five-person crew. During the mission, the STS-7 crew deployed satellites for Canada (ANIK C-2) and Indonesia (PALAPA B-1); operated the Canadian-built Remote Manipulator System (RMS) to perform the first deployment and retrieval exercise with the Shuttle Pallet Satellite (SPAS-01); conducted the first formation flying of the orbiter with a free-flying satellite (SPAS-01); carried and operated the first U.S./German cooperative materials science payload (OSTA-2) and operated the Continuous Flow Electrophoresis System (CFES) and the Monodisperse Latex Reactor (MLR) experiments, in addition to activating seven Getaway Specials. Mission duration was 147 hours before landing on a lakebed runway at Edwards Air Force Base, California, on June 24, 1983.

Dr. Ride served as a Mission Specialist on STS 41-G, which launched from Kennedy Space Center on October 5, 1984. This was the largest crew to fly to date and included Captain Robert L. Crippen (spacecraft commander), Captain Jon A. McBride (pilot), fellow Mission Specialists, Dr. Kathryn D. Sullivan and Commander David C. Leestma, as well as two payloads specialists, Commander Marc Garneau and Paul Scully-Power. Their eight-day mission deployed the Earth Radiation Budget Satellite, conducted scientific observations of the Earth with the OSTS-3 pallet and Large Format Camera and as demonstrated potential satellite refueling with a spacewalk and associated hydrazine transfer. Mission duration was 197 hours and concluded with a landing at Kennedy Space Center on October 13, 1984.

In June 1985, Dr. Ride was assigned to the crew of STS 61-M. Mission training was terminated in January 1986 following the space shuttle Challenger accident. Dr. Ride served as a member of the Presidential Commission investigating the accident. Upon completion of the investigation, she was assigned to NASA Headquarters as Special Assistant to the Administrator for long-range and strategic planning.

In 1989, Dr. Ride joined the faculty at the University of California San Diego as a Professor of Physics and Director of the University of California's California Space Institute. In 2001, she founded her own company, Sally Ride Science to pursue her long-time passion of motivating girls and young women to pursue careers in science, math and technology. The company creates entertaining science programs and publications for upper elementary and middle school students and their parents and teachers.

A long-time advocate for improved science education, Dr. Ride has written five science books for children: To Space and Back; Voyager; The Third Planet; The Mystery of Mars and Exploring Our Solar System. She has also initiated and directed education projects designed to fuel middle school students' fascination with science.

Dr. Ride was a member of the President's Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology and the National Research Council's Space Studies Board and has served on the boards of the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment, the Carnegie Institution of Washington and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Foundation. Dr. Ride is a Fellow of the American Physical Society, a member of the Pacific Council on International Policy and served on the boards of the Aerospace Corporation and the California Institute of Technology. She is the only person to have served on the commissions investigating both the space shuttle Challenger and Columbia accidents.

Dr. Ride received numerous honors and awards. She was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame and the Astronaut 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 also twice been awarded the NASA Space Flight Medal.

JULY 2012

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NASA

Guillermo Gonzalo Sanchez Achutegui

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