Ride, Sally Kristen (1951–)
The first American woman to fly in space. Ride was chosen as an astronaut
in 1978 and served as a mission specialist for the Space
Shuttle flight STS-7 (1983) and as a mission specialist on STS 41G
(1984). Following the Challenger
disaster she was elected as a member of the presidential commission
to investigate the accident, and chaired a NASA task force (1986–87)
that prepared a report on the future of the civilian space program. Ride
resigned from NASA in 1987 to join the Center for International Security
and Arms Control at Stanford University. In 1989 she assumed the directorship
of the California Space Institute, part of the University of California
at San Diego.
Related categories
• ASTRONAUTS
AND COSMONAUTS
• WOMEN
IN SPACE
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