Human Rights A Day

Sally Ride becomes first woman on a space shuttle mission. Sally Ride was born in Los Angeles, California on May 26, 1951. After attaining her bachelor of science, bachelor of arts, masters of science and doctorate of physics from Stanford University, she was chosen by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as a candidate for astronaut. A year and a half later, in August 1979, Ride completed her training and evaluation process to become eligible for her first assignment. She worked with space shuttle crews on the ground before getting her first flight in space. On June 18, 1983, Ride and the rest of the crew launched from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida. In her role as mission specialist, Ride became the first woman to be part of a space shuttle crew. Women excited about this “first” cheered, “Ride Sally Ride!” Later, Ride served on a larger space shuttle crew that included Dr. Kathryn Sullivan and Canadian Dr. Marc Garneau. After her missions into space, Ride worked for NASA Headquarte