Today we salute the stellar Sally Ride, the first American woman in space, on what would’ve been her 64th birthday!
Ride was born May 26, 1951 in Los Angeles. She was one of 8,000 people to respond to an ad seeking female space program recruits and was chosen to join NASA in 1978. Ride became the first American woman in space on June 18, 1983 as a crew member on the space shuttle Challenger. She participated in two space flights and served NASA in several capacities until 1987.
The only thing more impressive than Ride’s more than 340 hours logged in space was what she did with her time after leaving NASA. Concerned about young people – especially girls and minorities – losing interest in science and math at an early age, Ride co-founded the Sally Ride Science program, which has taught millions of students that careers in science, technology, engineering and math can be creative and fun.
Ride died in 2012 from pancreatic cancer but continues to be an inspiration to countless people with stars in their eyes!
Check out this tribute from Ride’s life partner and Sally Ride Science co-founder Tam O’Shaughnessy on Google’s blog!
Image via Biography.com