Today's Women of Space Remember Sally Ride

Sally Ride, the first U.S. female astronaut to fly in space, died July 23 at the age of 61 from pancreatic cancer. First launching on the Challenger space shuttle in 1983, Ride has become an enduring inspiration to people everywhere, particularly women working in science and engineering.

Ride’s place as the first American female astronaut was a long time coming. As far back as the Mercury program, NASA considered female astronaut candidates but the agency did not take the idea very seriously. Ride joined NASA in 1978, in the first astronaut class to include women, and trained for five years. Prior to her deployment on the Challenger mission, she endured sexist questions from reporters, shrugging them off by saying, “It’s too bad this is such a big deal. It is too bad our society isn’t further along.”

Ride worked hard all her life -- earning degrees in physics, astrophysics, and English – and after leaving NASA founded her own company, Sally Ride Science, to inspire girls and young women to pursue careers in science, math, and technology.

Though many female astronauts have joined NASA’s ranks after Ride, complete equality at the agency is still a dream. Only 20 percent of NASA engineers and 30 percent of NASA supervisors are women. Of NASA’s nine national Field Centers, one has a female director. Women lead only a handful of NASA’s scientific and robotic spacecraft teams.

Here, we offer remembrances from female astronauts, scientists, and engineers regarding Sally Ride and her legacy.

Sally Ride was a real pioneer not only as the first female U.S. astronaut, but as a prominent woman scientist. I remember I was in college when she became the first U.S. woman in space, and she was an example that broke stereotypes of women scientists. I can't imagine any aspiring young women astrophysicist of my generation didn't know about Sally Ride -- she was a prominent role model for all of us.

-- Fiona Harrison
Physicist and principal investigator of NASA’s NuSTAR mission.

Sally Ride's career is certainly an inspiration to all people interested in science and exploration, though it is perhaps most encouraging to women. As a girl, I remember learning about her progress as an astronaut as something that I could choose to do too. She proved beyond doubt that women are able to perform just as capably as men, in the most challenging environment imaginable. In addition, her ongoing work to improve science education for girls today, when progress has stalled, is something that should continue her legacy into the future.

-- Catharine Conley
Astrobiologist and NASA Planetary Protection Officer.

I met Sally before she was an astronaut -- out in the California desert where loads of people, including Prince Charles, were gathered to witness one of the Shuttle's early landing tests. I remember being struck by her poise and affability and how all-American she seemed. She oozed confidence and calm. I thought then she'd be an outstanding representative of our country and of women in particular, and I was right. We should all be very proud that she was one of ours.

-- Carolyn Porco
Planetary scientist, Cassini Imaging Science team lead, and director of the Cassini Imaging Central Laboratory for Operations (CICLOPS) at the Space Science Institute.

Sally was a personal and professional role model to me and thousands of women around the world. Her spirit and determination will continue to be an inspiration for women everywhere.

-- Lori Garver
NASA Deputy Administrator, in a NASA press release.

Very saddened by death of Sally Ride. Her indelible mark on history only starts with her as 1st US woman in space. As luck & fate would have it, I inherited Sally Ride's desk at NASA. I hope I can leave as positive an impact on the world as she.

-- Mae Jemison
First black female astronaut as well as a physician, scientist, and engineer, via Twitter.

Sally was an icon in the history of space exploration. She realized the great honor associated with being the first American woman in space and used her notoriety to promote education. Her influence in inspiring students to pursue careers in science and technology is one of her many extraordinary achievements. In her role as an astronaut and as an educator Sally changed the lives of countless young people and that will be her legacy.

-- Maria T. Zuber
Geophysicist and principal investigator of NASA’s GRAIL mission.

As STS-7 blasted off in 1983, I was finishing up my doctorate in physics -- astrophysics, to be more precise -- just as Ride had done a few years earlier. Most of my classmates were men, and I often felt out of place. Whether she shared that sense of being an outsider or not doesn't matter -- the important thing was that, thanks to her notoriety as a NASA astronaut, I found out about one more precious role model, someone in whose steps I could hope to follow. (OK, not the astronaut part -- I am far too chicken for that.) Ride made success seem attainable, even in the men-only world of physics.

Today, middle school students at Sally Ride Science learn the excitement and fun of science, the thrill and the challenge. Ride got to walk that walk in a big way. Her legacy is that other women do, too.

-- Meg Urry
Physicist and former senior scientist at the Space Telescope Science Institute, which runs the Hubble Space Telescope for NASA, via CNN.

Added 7/25/12

Sally Ride: astronaut, hero, pioneer, athlete, pilot and PhD in astrophysics -- an inspiration and a role model to a generation of Americans, including myself.

-- Gwynne Shotwell
President of SpaceX

Added 7/25/12

Image: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration