Sally Ride (1951- ) was a United States astronaut and the first American woman to travel in space. In June 1983, she and four other astronauts made a six-day flight on the space shuttle Challenger. During the flight, Ride helped launch satellites and do experiments. Ride made her second shuttle flight in October 1984.

Image to right: Astronaut Sally Ride communicates with ground control aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger. She was the first American woman in space. Credit: NASA

Ride was born in Los Angeles. In 1978, she was chosen for training to become an astronaut. Ride left the astronaut program in 1987. She went to teach at Stanford University in California.