Sally ride

These female pioneers broke barriers to study the great unknown.

On June 18, 1983, Sally Ride became the first American woman to fly in space when the space shuttle Challenger launched on mission STS-7 from Pad 39A, Kennedy Space Center. One of her jobs was to call out "Roll program" seven seconds after launch. "I'll guarantee that those were the hardest words I ever had to get out of my mouth," she said later.

A young Sally Ride. RIDE, SALLY RIDE!

Astronaut Sally Ride (May 26, 1951 - July 23, 2012) who was the first American Woman in Space.

Sally Ride

Sally Ride was a 27-year-old Ph.D. candidate, looking for postdoctoral work in astrophysics, when an item in the Stanford University newspaper caught her eye. NASA was looking for astronauts. She was one of only six women to be accepted, out of 8,000 applicants. She joined NASA in 1977, and underwent years of rigorous physical and scientific training. In 1983 she became the first American woman in space, flying a six-day mission on the Space Shuttle Challenger. Her second mission lasted…

40 years ago, she became the first American woman in space. Our photographer documents what was it like to be an astronaut—and queer—in the 1980s.

The United States Postal Service is releasing a stamp in commemoration of Sally Ride, the first American woman in space and the first known LGBT astronaut.