Sally Ride, PhD, was the first American woman in space. Ride was an avid tennis player as a child and was ranked number 20 in Southern California for girls aged 12 and under. She had considered becoming a professional player but ultimately decided to become as astrophysicist and received her doctorate in physics from Stanford University. In 1977, Ride read an article about NASA looking to recruit women as astronauts, applied, and became part of the 1978 astronaut class, the first to include women. On June 18, 1983, she became the first American woman in space, the third woman overall, and the youngest American in space at that time. Ride flew to space again on October 5, 1984. After Ride had retired from NASA and was teaching physics at UC San Diego, she founded Sally Ride Science, to promote equity and inclusion for all students, especially girls, in STEM studies and careers. She died on July 23, 2012, at the age of 61.
Learn more at the National Women’s History Museum.