Sally Ride Timeline

(1951 - 2012)

Sally Ride (1951-2012) was an American astronaut and physicist who made history in 1983 as the first American woman to travel to space aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger. A pioneering figure in science and space exploration, she later became a professor and advocate for science education, inspiring generations of young people, especially girls, to pursue careers in STEM. More Less

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Early Life and Education

Sally Ride born in Santa Monica, California

May 26, 1951

Sally Kristen Ride was born on May 26, 1951, in Santa Monica, California, the elder child of Dale Burdell Ride and Carol Joyce Ride (née Anderson). She would grow up to become an American astronaut and physicist.

Image source: Sally Ride

Family spends a year traveling in Europe

1960

In 1960, when she was nine years old, Sally Ride's family spent a year traveling in Europe, broadening her experiences during her childhood.

Ride ranked among top junior tennis players in Southern California

1963

By 1963 Ride was ranked number 20 in Southern California for girls aged 12 and under, showcasing her early talent as a tennis player.

Ride graduates high school

Jun 1968

Ride graduated from high school in June 1968, and then took a class in advanced math at Santa Monica College during the summer break before commencing classes at Swarthmore College on September 18, 1968.

Ride returns to California to pursue tennis

Jan 1970

After three semesters at Swarthmore, Ride returned to California in January 1970, with the aim of becoming a professional tennis player.

Ride plays doubles with Van der Meer against Billie Jean King

Aug 1972

In August 1972, Ride played in a doubles match with Dennis Van der Meer against world number 1 ranked female tennis player Billie Jean King and camp director Dick Peters; Martin Luther King III and Dexter King served as ball boys.

Image source: Billie Jean King

Ride graduates from Stanford University

1973

Ride graduated from Stanford University in 1973 with a Bachelor of Science degree in physics and a Bachelor of Arts degree in English literature.

Image source: Stanford University

Ride earns Master of Science degree in physics

1975

Ride earned a Master of Science degree in physics from Stanford University in 1975, continuing her studies toward a doctorate.

Ride earns Doctor of Philosophy in physics

1978

Ride completed her Doctor of Philosophy at Stanford University in 1978 for research on the interaction of X-rays with the interstellar medium.

NASA Career

Ride sees NASA recruitment notice in The Stanford Daily

Jan 1977

In January 1977, Ride spotted an article on the front page of The Stanford Daily telling how NASA was recruiting a new group of astronauts for the Space Shuttle program and wanted to recruit women. Her application was one of 8,079 received by the June 30, 1977 deadline.

Ride selected for NASA Astronaut Group 8

Jan 16, 1978

On January 16, 1978, Ride received a phone call from George Abbey, NASA's director of flight operations, informing her that she had been selected as part of NASA Astronaut Group 8. She was graded a civil service GS-12, with a salary of US$21,883 (equivalent to $108,019 in 2025).

Image source: NASA Astronaut Group 8

Ride completes astronaut training

Aug 31, 1979

On August 31, 1979, NASA announced that the 35 astronaut candidates, including Ride, had completed their training and evaluation and were now officially astronauts, qualified for selection on space flight crews. She then served as ground-based capsule communicator (CapCom) for the second and third Space Shuttle flights and helped develop the Space Shuttle's robotic arm.

Ride's selection for STS-7 officially announced

Apr 1982

By early 1982, George Abbey and Chief of the Astronaut Office John Young wanted to begin scheduling missions with the TFNGs, starting with the seventh Space Shuttle mission. NASA Headquarters approved Ride's selection, which was officially announced in April 1982.

Image source: STS-7

Ride's selection for STS-7 officially announced

Ride marries astronaut Steven Hawley

Jul 26, 1982

Ride, who had begun dating fellow astronaut Steven Hawley in 1981, married him on July 26, 1982, in the backyard of Hawley's parents' house in Salina, Kansas. They became the third NASA astronaut couple.

Image source: Steven Hawley

STS-7: Ride becomes first American woman in space

Jun 18, 1983

When the Space Shuttle Challenger lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center on June 18, 1983, on the STS-7 mission, Ride became the first American woman to fly in space, and the third woman overall after Valentina Tereshkova and Svetlana Savitskaya.

Ride meets Svetlana Savitskaya in Budapest

Sep 1983

In September 1983, on her own initiative, Ride met with Svetlana Savitskaya, the second woman to fly in space, in Budapest.

Image source: Svetlana Savitskaya

STS-41-G: Ride becomes first American woman to fly twice

Oct 5, 1984 - Oct 13, 1984

Ride's second space flight lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Challenger on October 5, 1984. On this mission Challenger completed 132 orbits of the Earth in 197.5 hours, landing back at KSC on October 13, 1984. Ride became the first American woman to fly twice, and her crewmate Kathryn Sullivan became the first American woman to perform an EVA.

Image source: STS-41-G

Ride serves on Rogers Commission investigating Challenger disaster

Feb 1986 - Jun 6, 1986

After the Challenger disaster, Ride served on the Rogers Commission investigating the accident. The commission submitted its report on June 6, 1986. Ride later served on the Columbia Accident Investigation Board in 2003, becoming the only person to serve on both panels.

Image source: Rogers Commission Report

Ride publishes children's book To Space and Back

Oct 1986

In October 1986, Ride published a children's book, To Space and Back, which she co-wrote with Sue Okie, her high school and Swarthmore friend.

Image source: Backstreet Boys

Post-NASA Career

Ride leaves NASA for Stanford fellowship

Aug 15, 1987

In May 1987, Ride announced that she was leaving NASA to take up a two-year fellowship at the Stanford University Center for International Security and Arms Control (CISAC), commencing on August 15, 1987.

Ride becomes professor at UCSD and director of Cal Space

Jul 1, 1989

On July 1, 1989, Ride became a professor of physics at the University of California, San Diego, and director of the California Space Institute (Cal Space), part of the university's Scripps Institution of Oceanography. She remained director of Cal Space until 1996.

Image source: University of California, San Diego

Ride serves on Columbia Accident Investigation Board

2003

In 2003, Ride served on the Columbia Accident Investigation Board, and was the only person to serve on both the panel that investigated the Challenger disaster and the one that investigated the Columbia disaster.

Image source: Columbia Accident Investigation Board

Ride retires from UCSD as professor emeritus

2007

Ride retired from UCSD in 2007 and became a professor emeritus. She also served on the board of the National Math and Science Initiative that year.

Ride endorses Barack Obama for president

2008

She endorsed Barack Obama for president in 2008, and was contacted by Lori Garver, head of Obama's NASA transition team, but made it clear that she was not interested in the post of NASA administrator.

Image source: Barack Obama

Legacy

Ride appears in Touched by an Angel episode

1999

Ride appeared as herself in the 1999 Touched by an Angel episode 'Godspeed'. From September 1999 to July 2000, she was also president of the space news website Space.com.

Image source: Touched by an Angel

Ride inducted into California Hall of Fame

Dec 6, 2006

California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and first lady Maria Shriver inducted Ride into the California Hall of Fame at the California Museum for History, Women, and the Arts on December 6, 2006.

Image source: California Hall of Fame

GRAIL probes crash on moon in tribute to Ride

Dec 17, 2012

On December 17, 2012, the two GRAIL probes, Ebb and Flow, were directed to complete their mission by crashing on an unnamed lunar mountain near the crater Goldschmidt. Also in December 2012, the Space Foundation bestowed upon Ride its highest honor, the General James E. Hill Lifetime Space Achievement Award.

Image source: GRAIL

The Challenger Disaster TV movie premieres

2013

In the 2013 TV movie The Challenger Disaster, Ride was portrayed by Eve Best. Also in July 2013, Flying magazine ranked Ride at number 50 on their list of the '51 Heroes of Aviation'.

Navy announces research ship named after Ride

Apr 2013

In April 2013, the United States Navy announced that a research ship would be named in honor of Ride. The RV Sally Ride (AGOR-28) was christened by O'Shaughnessy on August 9, 2014, the first vessel in the research fleet named after a female scientist, and delivered to Scripps Institution of Oceanography in 2016.

Image source: RV Sally Ride

Obama announces Presidential Medal of Freedom for Ride

May 20, 2013

President Barack Obama announced that Ride would receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the United States. The medal was presented to O'Shaughnessy in a ceremony at the White House on November 20, 2013.

Image source: Presidential Medal of Freedom

Ride honored with Google Doodle

May 26, 2015

Ride was honored with a Google Doodle on what would have been her 64th birthday in 2015. The doodle was reused on International Women's Day in 2017.

Image source: Google Doodle

USPS issues postage stamp honoring Ride

2018

The United States Postal Service issued a first-class postage stamp honoring Ride in 2018.

Image source: United States Postal Service

Mattel releases Barbie doll in Ride's likeness

2019

In 2019, Mattel released a Barbie doll in Ride's likeness as part of their 'Inspiring Women' series. That same year, Stanford University's Serra House was renamed the Sally Ride House, and Tierna Davidson of the US women's national soccer team honored Ride on her jersey for matches in March 2019.

Image source: Barbie

Ride featured on American Women quarter

Mar 2022

Ride appeared as one of the first two honorees of the American Women quarters series in March 2022, the first known LGBT person to appear on U.S. currency.

Image source: American Women quarters

Satellite named after Ride launched

Apr 1, 2022

On April 1, 2022, a satellite named after Ride (ÑuSat 27 or 'Sally', COSPAR 2022-033R) was launched into space as part of the Satellogic Aleph-1 constellation. It launched successfully on November 7, 2022. In 2022, a statue of Ride was also unveiled outside the Cradle of Aviation Museum.

Image source: Satellogic

Statue of Ride unveiled at Ronald Reagan Presidential Library

2023

In 2023, another statue of Ride was unveiled outside the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.

Image source: Ronald Reagan Presidential Library

National Geographic premieres documentary Sally

Jan 28, 2025

On January 28, 2025, National Geographic premiered a documentary called Sally, telling the story of Ride's professional and personal life, primarily through her hidden relationship with Tam O'Shaughnessy.

Image source: National Geographic

Death and Legacy

Ride diagnosed with pancreatic cancer

Mar 10, 2011

When Ride delivered a speech at the National Science Teachers Association Conference in San Francisco on March 10, 2011, Tam O'Shaughnessy noted she looked ill and had her book a doctor's appointment; a medical ultrasound revealed a tumor the size of a golf ball in her abdomen, found to be pancreatic cancer.

Image source: Pancreatic cancer

Sally Ride dies at age 61

Jul 23, 2012

Ride died on July 23, 2012, at the age of 61, at her home in La Jolla, from pancreatic cancer. Her obituary identified Tam O'Shaughnessy as her partner of 27 years, revealing that she was the first astronaut known to have been LGBTQ.

Personal Life

Ride and O'Shaughnessy register domestic partnership

Aug 15, 2011

During 1985, Ride had begun an affair with Tam O'Shaughnessy, a former Women's Tennis Association player. Ride had ensured O'Shaughnessy would inherit her estate when she drew up her will in 1992, and they registered their domestic partnership on August 15, 2011.

Image source: Tam O'Shaughnessy

Key Facts

Sally Ride was born on May 26, 1951, in Los Angeles, California.
In 1978, she was selected as one of the first six women in NASA's astronaut corps.
On June 18, 1983, she became the first American woman in space as a crew member of Space Shuttle Challenger mission STS-7.
She flew a second space mission in 1984 on Challenger STS-41-G, logging over 343 hours in total in space.
After retiring from NASA in 1987, she became a physics professor at UC San Diego and co-founded Sally Ride Science to promote STEM education for girls.

Source

This Sally Ride timeline was generated with the help of AI, using information found on the internet.

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