Who Is Sally Ride? Age, Biography, and Wiki
Sally Ride was born on May 26, 1951, in Encino, California. An accomplished physicist and astronaut, she made history on June 18, 1983, aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger, becoming the first American woman to fly in space. Throughout her career, Ride advocated for science education, particularly for young girls. Tragically, she passed away on July 23, 2012, from pancreatic cancer. Her incredible legacy continues to resonate, especially as we commemorate her contributions in 2025.
| Occupation | Tennis Players |
|---|---|
| Date of Birth | May 26, 1951 |
| Age | 61 Years |
| Birth Place | Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Horoscope | Gemini |
| Country | U.S |
| Date of death | 23 July, 2012 |
| Died Place | La Jolla, California, U.S. |
Popularity
Sally Ride's Popularity over time
Height, Weight & Measurements
Though she is no longer with us, Sally Ride stood approximately 5 feet 9 inches tall (175 cm) and weighed around 130 pounds (59 kg) during her time in NASA. Known for her fit physique, Sally maintained a healthy lifestyle which supported her rigorous training and duties as an astronaut.
Ride was a graduate of Stanford University, where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in physics and a Bachelor of Arts degree in English literature in 1973, a Master of Science degree in 1975, and a Doctor of Philosophy in 1978 (both in physics) for research on the interaction of X-rays with the interstellar medium.
She was selected as a mission specialist astronaut with NASA Astronaut Group 8, the first class of NASA astronauts to include women. After completing her training in 1979, she served as the ground-based capsule communicator (CapCom) for the second and third Space Shuttle flights, and helped develop the Space Shuttle's robotic arm.
In June 1983, she flew in space on the on the STS-7 mission. The mission deployed two communications satellites and the first Shuttle pallet satellite (SPAS-1). Ride operated the robotic arm to deploy and retrieve SPAS-1. Her second space flight was the STS-41-G mission in 1984, also on board Challenger.
She spent a total of more than 343 hours in space. She left NASA in 1987.
Family, Dating & Relationship Status
Sally Ride was married to fellow NASA astronaut Steven Hawley from 1982 until their divorce in 1987. Throughout her life, she was private about her personal relationships. After her divorce, she was in a long-term relationship with Tam O'Shaughnessy, who was also her childhood friend. The details of their relationship remained largely under wraps, highlighting Ride's preference for privacy in her personal life.
Ride worked for two years at Stanford University's Center for International Security and Arms Control, then at the University of California, San Diego, primarily researching nonlinear optics and Thomson scattering. She served on the committees that investigated the loss of Challenger and of Columbia, the only person to participate in both.
Having been married to astronaut Steven Hawley during her spaceflight years and in a private, long-term relationship with former Women's Tennis Association player Tam O'Shaughnessy, she is the first astronaut known to have been LGBTQ. She died of pancreatic cancer in 2012.
Net Worth and Salary
At the time of her passing, Sally Ride's estimated net worth was around $8 million, derived from her successful career in NASA and her published works. Her earnings included income from various speaking engagements, academic positions, and royalties from her books aimed at motivating young minds to pursue STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) careers.
Group 8's name for itself was "TFNG". The abbreviation was deliberately ambiguous; for public purposes, it stood for "Thirty-Five New Guys", but within the group itself, it was known to stand for the military phrase, "the fucking new guy", used to denote newcomers to a military unit.
Officially, they were astronaut candidates; they would not become fully-fledged astronauts until they had completed their training. Ride was graded a civil service GS-12, with a salary of US$21,883.
She bought a unit in the Nassau Bay, Texas, area, and moved in with Colson, who secured a research grant at Rice University so they could move to Houston together. He became the only unmarried astronaut candidate's partner. Ride and Colson split up in January 1979, and she briefly dated fellow astronaut candidate Robert "Hoot" Gibson.
Career, Business, and Investments
Sally Ride's career was marked by her pivotal role in NASA's space missions and her commitment to education. After her historic flight, she went on to serve on the Challenger and Columbia accident investigation commissions, providing valuable insights. Furthermore, she co-founded Sally Ride Science, an organization dedicated to promoting STEM education for girls, and published several books targeting young learners. Her investments and entrepreneurial ventures focused primarily on educational initiatives and advocacy for women in science.
As the first American woman to fly in space, Ride was subjected to media attention. There were over five hundred requests for private interviews, all of which were declined. Instead, NASA hosted the usual pre-launch press conference on May 24, 1983.
Ride was asked questions such as, "Will the flight affect your reproductive organs?" and "Do you weep when things go wrong on the job?" She insisted that she saw herself in only one way—as an astronaut.
NASA was still adjusting to female astronauts, and engineers had asked Ride to assist them in developing a "space makeup kit", assuming it would be something a woman would want on board. They also infamously suggested providing Ride with a supply of 100 tampons for the six-day mission.
Social Network
Although Sally Ride has not been active on social media due to her passing, her legacy continues to thrive across various platforms. Numerous tributes and discussions about her contributions are ongoing, especially during relevant commemorations in STEM and education sectors.
Astronaut candidate training included learning to fly NASA's T-38 Talon jet aircraft. Officially, mission specialists did not have to qualify as pilots, only ride in the back seat and handle an emergency if the pilot became incapacitated.
They were never to control the aircraft below 5000 ft, but many of the astronaut pilots and pilot candidates, eager to share their love of flying, ignored the rules, and let the more proficient mission specialist candidates fly the jets lower. John Fabian even had her fly "under the hood", with the windows blacked out and using instruments only.
Ride enjoyed flying so much she took private flying lessons to earn a private pilot's license. She bought a part interest in a Grumman Tiger aircraft, which she would fly on weekends.
On August 31, 1979, NASA announced that the 35 astronaut candidates had completed their training and evaluation, and were now officially astronauts, qualified for selection on space flight crews.
Education
Sally Ride's educational background is exceptional. She obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics from Stanford University and later earned a Master of Science and a Ph.D. in Physics, also from Stanford. Her strong foundation in science allowed her to excel in NASA's astronaut training program and subsequently achieve remarkable feats in space exploration.
Ride grew up in the Van Nuys and Encino neighborhoods of Los Angeles. In 1960, when she was nine years old, the family spent a year traveling in Europe. In Spain, Ride played tennis for the first time. She enjoyed sports, tennis most of all, and at age 10 was coached by Alice Marble, a former world number one player.
By 1963 Ride was ranked number 20 in Southern California for girls aged 12 and under. She attended Encino Elementary School, Portola Junior High (now Portola Middle School), Birmingham High School and then, as a sophomore on a tennis scholarship, Westlake School for Girls, an exclusive all-girls private school in Los Angeles.
Elizabeth Mommaerts, who taught human physiology, became a mentor. Ride resolved to become an astrophysicist. She graduated in June 1968, and then took a class in advanced math at Santa Monica College during the summer break.
