Sally Kristen Ride (May 26, 1951 – July 23, 2012)
On June 18, 1983, the space shuttle Challenger was launched
into space on its second mission. On board the shuttle is Dr.
Sally K. Ride, who as a mission specialist, became the first
American woman to travel into space.
Ride, who had earlier pursued a professional tennis career,
answered a newspaper ad in 1977 from NASA calling for
young tech-savvy scientists who could work as mission
specialists. She died of pancreatic cancer at age 61.
Presidential Medal of Freedom
(2013, posthumous)