About Sally Ride:
Sally Kristen Ride was an American physicist and astronaut. Born in Los Angeles, she joined NASA in 1978 and became the first American woman in space in 1983. She 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 on both.
When you're getting ready to launch into space, you're sitting on a big explosion waiting to happen.
Sally RideI didn't really decide that I wanted to be an astronaut for sure until the end of college.
Sally RideSo most astronauts are astronauts for a couple of years before they are assigned to a flight.
Sally RideI do a lot of running and hiking, and I also collect stamps - space stamps and Olympics stamps.
Sally RideSo I saw many planets, and they looked just a little bit brighter than they do from Earth.
Sally Ride