On Monday, July 23, Sally Ride, the first American woman to fly in space, died at the age of 61.
According to an article on CNN.com, Sally Ride first flew in space aboard the space shuttle Challenger in 1983, and again on the same shuttle a year later.
She attended Stanford University, and earned four degrees, including a doctorate in physics. She joined NASA in 1978, part of their first class to ever include women. After leaving NASA, Sally taught at the University of California-San Diego.
The Library has several books co-written by Sally Ride in our Juvenile Nonfiction section on the main floor.
To learn more about women astronauts, search the Library’s online catalog. Titles include Right Stuff, Wrong Sex: America’s First Women in Space Program, call number TL789.85.A1 W45 2004 (Main Collection) and Space for Women: A History of Women with the Right Stuff, call number TL539 .F74 2002 (Main Collection).
For assistance in finding information about Sally Ride or women in space, contact a reference librarian.
Sally Ride helped to carve a path into space that future women could follow. Thanks, Sally.