Sally Kristen Ride was an American astronaut, physicist, and engineer. Born in Los Angeles, she joined NASA in 1978 and became the first American woman in space in 1983. Ride was the third woman in space overall, after USSR cosmonauts Valentina Tereshkova (1963) and Svetlana Savitskaya (1982). Ride remains the youngest American astronaut to have traveled to space, having done so at the age of 32. After flying twice on the Orbiter Challenger, she left NASA in 1987. She worked for two years at Stanford University's Center for International Security and Arms Control, then at the University of California, San Diego as a professor of physics, primarily researching nonlinear optics and Thomson scattering. She served on the committees that investigated the Challenger and Columbia space shuttle disasters, the only person to participate in both. Ride died of pancreatic cancer on July 23, 2012.

Space Shuttle Challenger / OV-099 | STS-7

National Aeronautics and Space Administration | USA
Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA
June 18, 1983, 11:33 a.m.

Status: Success

Mission:

STS-7 was the second mission for the Space Shuttle Challenger. It deployed several satellites into orbit. It was the first mission scheduled to land at Kennedy Space Center however it had to divert to Edwards Air Force Base due to bad weather. STS-7 carried Sally Ride, America's first female astronaut.

Low Earth Orbit

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Space Shuttle Challenger / OV-099 | STS-41-G

National Aeronautics and Space Administration | USA
Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA
Oct. 5, 1984, 11:03 a.m.

Status: Success

Mission:

STS-41-G was the thirteenth flight of the shuttle program and sixth of the Space Shuttle Challenger. It was the second landing made at the Kenendy Space Center. It was the first crew to carry two women, the first American EVA involving a woman, the first Australian Astronaut and first Canadian Astronaut.

Low Earth Orbit

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