Buzz
Sally Ride is widely recognized as the first American woman in space. However, there are six surprising aspects about the trailblazing astronaut, born on May 26, 1951, that you might not be aware of.
1. Sally Ride demonstrated that no question is too silly to ask.
During her maiden spaceflight in 1983, Sally Ride became both the first American woman and the youngest American to venture into space. These remarkable achievements highlight her expertise and passion for her profession, but they also made her a target for some truly outlandish questions from the press.
Journalist Michael Ryan shared some of the more absurd questions posed to Ride in a June 1983 profile for *People*. Here are some highlights:
Q: “Will the flight affect your reproductive organs?” A: “There’s no evidence of that.” Q: “Do you cry when things go wrong on the job?” A: “How come nobody ever asks (a male fellow astronaut) those questions?”
Forget about her space journey—Ride's most remarkable feat might have been keeping her cool in response to such disrespectful questions.
2. If Sally Ride had followed Billie Jean King's advice, she could have become a professional tennis player.
Growing up near Los Angeles, Ride was an accomplished tennis player. She was a nationally ranked junior player, and by 1969, at 18, she was ranked 18th in the entire country. Tennis icon Billie Jean King encouraged Ride to pursue a professional career, but Ride chose to attend Swarthmore before transferring to Stanford to complete her undergraduate studies, a master's degree, and a PhD in physics.
King didn’t forget the young tennis sensation she had once encouraged. In 1984, when asked who she’d take with her to the moon, King humorously responded, “Tom Selleck, my family, and Sally Ride to get us all back.”
3. Home economics was not Sally Ride's strongest subject.
After leaving her career in space, Ride became a passionate advocate for math and science education, especially for young girls. In 2001, she established *Sally Ride Science*, a San Diego-based organization dedicated to providing engaging math and science opportunities for elementary and middle school students.
Despite being a legendary female scientist with a PhD in physics, Ride, like many students, faced academic challenges growing up. In a 2006 interview with *USA Today*, she admitted that home economics, a mandatory seventh-grade class for girls, was her weakest subject. As Ride humorously said, "Can you imagine having to cook and eat tuna casserole at 8 a.m.?"
4. Sally Ride had a deep connection to the *Challenger*.
Ride’s two space missions took place aboard the ill-fated shuttle *Challenger*, and she was deep into training for a third mission when the shuttle tragically exploded in 1986. Ride learned of the disaster under the worst possible circumstances: while aboard a plane, when the pilot made the announcement over the intercom.
In a later interview with *AARP the Magazine*, Ride recalled how she immediately retrieved her NASA badge and headed to the cockpit when she heard the mid-flight announcement, so she could listen to radio reports about the fallen shuttle. The disaster meant Ride would never return to space, and the personal loss was hard to bear, as four of the *Challenger* crew members had been part of her astronaut training class.
5. Sally Ride had no desire to profit from her global fame.
A 2003 *New York Times* profile described Ride as one of the most well-known women in the world after her two space missions, a statement that was hard to dispute. She could have easily capitalized on her fame through endorsements, movie deals, and ghostwritten books, but she chose to pass on most of those opportunities for quick financial gain.
While Ride didn’t chase fame for profit, she did venture into publishing and endorsements later on. She wrote or co-wrote more than six children’s books centered around scientific themes, such as *To Space and Back*, and in 2009, she appeared in a print advertisement for Louis Vuitton. However, this ad wasn’t about making money—an Annie Leibovitz photograph showed Ride alongside astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Jim Lovell, gazing at the moon and stars. According to a spokesperson, the three astronauts donated a substantial portion of their modeling fees to Al Gore’s Climate Project.
6. Sally Ride was the first astronaut to openly identify as LGBTQ.
Sally Ride passed away on July 23, 2012, at the age of 61, after a prolonged and deeply private struggle with pancreatic cancer. While her marriage to fellow astronaut Steve Hawley was public knowledge (they were married from 1982 to 1987), it wasn't until after her death that her long-time relationship with Tam O'Shaughnessy—a childhood friend and science writer—became known. Even in death, Ride made history as the world’s first openly LGBTQ astronaut.
