Born On This Day, 1951: Sally Ride

Jim Burroway

May 26th, 2016

Sally Ride(d. 2012) When she flew onto orbit on the Space Shuttle Challenger in 1983, Sally ride became the first American woman and the third woman worldwide in space (behind Soviet cosmonauts Valentina Tereshkova in 1963 and Svetlana Savitskaya in 1982). She was thirty-two at the time, which made her the youngest American to travel to space — that record still stands. She repeated that trip again the next year, also aboard Challenger.

On the flight deck during her first Challenger mission.

On the flight deck during her first Challenger mission.

The Los Angeles native had always been interested in science. She earned a bachelor’s degree in English and physics at Stanford, where she also earned a master’s and Ph.D. in physics while studying X-rays in interstellar space. She answered an ad that NASA placed in the Stanford student newspaper seeking applicants. Out of 8,000 applicants, she was chosen in 1978. When she was selected for STS-7 in 1983, her gender was quite a novelty, with clueless reporters asking, “Will the flight affect your reproductive organs?” and “Do you weep when things go wrong on the job?”

With members of the Presidential Commission investigating the Challenger explosion.

With members of the Presidential Commission investigating the Challenger explosion.

She was scheduled for a third flight in 1986, but that flight was cancelled after the Challenger disaster. Instead of flying into space, Ride joined the investigation, heading the subcommittee on operations where she discovered key information regarding the ill-fated O-rings.

Ride left NASA in 1987 to work at the Stanford University Center for International Security and Arms Control. In 1989, she became a physics professor at U.C. San Diego and served as the director of the California Space Institute. She was also heavily involved with NASA’s outreach to school children, and co-founded a company that developed science programs for elementary and middle school students, with a particular emphasis on getting girls interested in science. In 2003, NASA asked her to join the Columbia accident investigation, making her the only person to investigate both shuttle disasters.

Ride had married fellow astronaut Steve Hawley in 1982, but they divorced in 1987. After that, Ride was extremely circumspect about her private life. After she died in 2012 of pancreatic cancer, her official obituary said that she was survived by her mother, sister, a niece, a nephew, and “Tam O’Shaughnessy, her partner of 27 years.” That’s how she came out. Her sister, Bear Ride, confirmed that Sally was a very private person and said, “We consider Tam a member of the family.” She added, “I hope it makes it easier for kids growing up gay that they know that another one of their heroes was like them.”

In 2013, President Barack Obama honored Ride with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor. Dr. O’Shaughnessy is currently the Executive Director of Sally Ride Science at UC San Diego, a nonprofit which focuses on professional development for teachers “to help educators build students’ STEM literacy” for K-12 students.

There are no comments for this post.

Leave A Comment

All comments reflect the opinions of commenters only. They are not necessarily those of anyone associated with Box Turtle Bulletin. Comments are subject to our Comments Policy.

(Required)
(Required, never shared)

PLEASE NOTE: All comments are subject to our Comments Policy.

 

Latest Posts

The Things You Learn from the Internet

"The Intel On This Wasn't 100 Percent"

From Fake News To Real Bullets: This Is The New Normal

NC Gov McCrory Throws In The Towel

Colorado Store Manager Verbally Attacks "Faggot That Voted For Hillary" In Front of 4-Year-Old Son

Associated Press Updates "Alt-Right" Usage Guide

A Challenge for Blue Bubble Democrats

Baptist Churches in Dallas, Austin Expelled Over LGBT-Affirming Stance

Featured Reports

What Are Little Boys Made Of?

In this original BTB Investigation, we unveil the tragic story of Kirk Murphy, a four-year-old boy who was treated for “cross-gender disturbance” in 1970 by a young grad student by the name of George Rekers. This story is a stark reminder that there are severe and damaging consequences when therapists try to ensure that boys will be boys.

Slouching Towards Kampala: Uganda’s Deadly Embrace of Hate

When we first reported on three American anti-gay activists traveling to Kampala for a three-day conference, we had no idea that it would be the first report of a long string of events leading to a proposal to institute the death penalty for LGBT people. But that is exactly what happened. In this report, we review our collection of more than 500 posts to tell the story of one nation’s embrace of hatred toward gay people. This report will be updated continuously as events continue to unfold. Check here for the latest updates.

Paul Cameron’s World

In 2005, the Southern Poverty Law Center wrote that “[Paul] Cameron’s ‘science’ echoes Nazi Germany.” What the SPLC didn”t know was Cameron doesn’t just “echo” Nazi Germany. He quoted extensively from one of the Final Solution’s architects. This puts his fascination with quarantines, mandatory tattoos, and extermination being a “plausible idea” in a whole new and deeply disturbing light.

From the Inside: Focus on the Family’s “Love Won Out”

On February 10, I attended an all-day “Love Won Out” ex-gay conference in Phoenix, put on by Focus on the Family and Exodus International. In this series of reports, I talk about what I learned there: the people who go to these conferences, the things that they hear, and what this all means for them, their families and for the rest of us.

Prologue: Why I Went To “Love Won Out”
Part 1: What’s Love Got To Do With It?
Part 2: Parents Struggle With “No Exceptions”
Part 3: A Whole New Dialect
Part 4: It Depends On How The Meaning of the Word "Change" Changes
Part 5: A Candid Explanation For "Change"

The Heterosexual Agenda: Exposing The Myths

At last, the truth can now be told.

Using the same research methods employed by most anti-gay political pressure groups, we examine the statistics and the case studies that dispel many of the myths about heterosexuality. Download your copy today!

And don‘t miss our companion report, How To Write An Anti-Gay Tract In Fifteen Easy Steps.

Testing The Premise: Are Gays A Threat To Our Children?

Anti-gay activists often charge that gay men and women pose a threat to children. In this report, we explore the supposed connection between homosexuality and child sexual abuse, the conclusions reached by the most knowledgeable professionals in the field, and how anti-gay activists continue to ignore their findings. This has tremendous consequences, not just for gay men and women, but more importantly for the safety of all our children.

Straight From The Source: What the “Dutch Study” Really Says About Gay Couples

Anti-gay activists often cite the “Dutch Study” to claim that gay unions last only about 1½ years and that the these men have an average of eight additional partners per year outside of their steady relationship. In this report, we will take you step by step into the study to see whether the claims are true.

The FRC’s Briefs Are Showing

Tony Perkins’ Family Research Council submitted an Amicus Brief to the Maryland Court of Appeals as that court prepared to consider the issue of gay marriage. We examine just one small section of that brief to reveal the junk science and fraudulent claims of the Family “Research” Council.

Daniel Fetty Doesn’t Count

Daniel FettyThe FBI’s annual Hate Crime Statistics aren’t as complete as they ought to be, and their report for 2004 was no exception. In fact, their most recent report has quite a few glaring holes. Holes big enough for Daniel Fetty to fall through.