6 Things You Didn't Know About The First American Woman In Space

In 1983 Sally Ride became the first American woman in space as an astrophysicist on board the Challenger space shuttle. Here are some things you may not have known about her life and legacy.

1. Ride Took Off Over Twenty Years After The First Woman In Space

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Russian Cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova (pictured above) became the first women in space as part of mission Vostok 6 on the 16th of June 1963.

Just over twenty years later, on the 18th of June 1983, Sally Ride all at once became the third woman, first American woman, and youngest American in space.

Sadly in 1983 news outlets often focussed on Ride's gender rather than her skills and qualifications. Former astronaut Paul Ronney has described the type of questions Ride received from the media at the time, including questions about how her "female organs" might respond to zero gravity and whether or not she ever got emotional or "moody" during her training.

Despite these pressures Ride was consistently professional and unsentimental about her experiences and training, often preferring not to answer emotive questions such as how it felt to be in space.

2. Her Obituary Contained A Surprising Detail

Ride's obituary referred to "Tam O'Shaughnessy, her partner of 27 years", which highlighted the fact that Ride's long-time collaborator and friend had also been her partner.

While Ride certainly never put a lable on her sexuality, and was married to fellow astronaut Steve Hawley until their divorce in 1987, the information is certainly a huge boost for the LGBT community. Sally Ride can provide a valuable role model, not just to young women but also to LGBT teenagers dreaming of a career among the stars.

In an article on openly gay astronauts, author Michael Cassutt revealed that an astronaut being open about their sexuality would be seen as a "career-wrecker" in the same way that "any medical issue or even some kind of notoriety" would be, which highlights the distance that the profession still has to cover in terms of equality.

3. She Investigated Both The Challenger And Columbia Shuttle Disasters...

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...and was the only person to participate in both.

Ride still worked at NASA in 1986, when the world looked on in horror as the Challenger spacecraft broke apart, killing all seven of its crew members.

Ride had been one of the few public figures to openly support Roger Boisjoly, an engineer who had voice serious concerns about the shuttle prior to the disaster, and she subsequently served on a committee investigating the event.

17 years later, when the Columbia shuttle broke apart in 2003 killed its entire crew, Ride was once again asked to be a part of the investigation.

4. She Cared Passionately About Educating Young People

SallyRideScience / Via youtube.com

Over her career Ride wrote a number of books about space, encouraging young people to think, explore and hopefully to study science and become the future of space travel.

She also become the CEO and co-founder of Sally Ride Science, a company dedicated to education and support for students with an interest in science and technology.

Her contribution to education has been so great that there are currently two schools named after her in the US.

5. She Was Recognised Numerous Times In Her Relatively Short Life

nasa.gov / Via nasa.gov

Ride was honoured with countless awards including being inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame and the Astronaut Hall of Fame, and twice being awarded the NASA Space Medal.

Ride was also posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Obama in 2013. Her life partner Tam O'Shaussnessy collected the award on Ride's behalf.

6. Her Legacy Will Live On

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Ride sadly died from pancreatic cancer in June of 2012 at the age of just 61. Later that same year NASA announced that two probes from its GRAIL mission (which Ride was heavily involved in) were to be landing on the moon, and that the landing site had been named in honour of Ride.

Ride was a pioneering women and human being. Her accomplishments have not only inspired a generation of to look to the heavens, but they also enabled her to empower young people to reach those heights for themselves.