Sally Ride: Life on a Mission (A Real-Life Story)
Sue Macy
Language: English
Pages: 160
ISBN: 1442488557
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
Sally Ride was more than the first woman in space—she was a real-life explorer and adventurer whose life story is a true inspiration for all those who dream big.
Most people know Sally Ride as the first American female astronaut to travel in space. But in her lifetime she was also a nationally ranked tennis player, a physicist who enjoyed reading Shakespeare, a university professor, and the founder of a company that helped inspire girls and young women to pursue careers in science and math. Posthumously, she was a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
From Sally Ride’s youth to her many groundbreaking achievements in space and beyond, Sue Macy’s riveting biography tells the story of not only a pioneering astronaut, but a leader and explorer whose life, as President Barack Obama said, “demonstrates that the sky is no limit for those who dream of reaching for the stars.”
making them impossible to attain. As Sally Ride settled into life after NASA, she gave a lot of thought to glass ceilings and what was keeping women out of science and engineering careers. She decided the problem began with the messages girls who loved science and math got when they were in school. “If a girl who’s twelve says she wants to be an electrical engineer, she gets a slightly different reaction . . . than a twelve-year-old boy who says that he wants to be an electrical engineer,” she
better images be taken of the shuttle during each mission. That included requiring orbiting satellites to take images of every shuttle while it was in flight. The board emphasized improving maintenance and safety standards, too. They asked NASA to redesign its data system to include information on the performance and health of the shuttle. They also called for more rigorous training for the mission managers on the ground, including challenges that required lifesaving problem solving. Close to
significance and achievement.” Previous winners included US presidents Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, and Dwight D. Eisenhower, as well as African-American tennis pioneer Althea Gibson and Eunice Kennedy Shriver, founder of the Special Olympics. In 2006 Sally was one of the first thirteen men and women—also including Billie Jean King and Walt Disney—inducted into the California Hall of Fame in Sacramento. The following year she was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame
hero . . . years to come.” “Statement by the President on the Passing of Sally Ride,” July 23, 2012. Author’s Note “Sally was a personal . . . for women everywhere.” “Women@NASA Honors Sally Ride.” “put a female . . . math and science.” Drummond, Inventors Digest. “I named . . . for the stars.” Robbins, San Diego Union-Tribune. “The ground . . . women with her.” Hughes, DCist Daily. “I actually measure . . . to achieve that.” Academy of Achievement interview. WE HOPE YOU LOVED READING THIS
expect,” Sally told Ms. magazine in 1983. “From what we’d heard and read, we thought they’d put us in centrifuges, dunk us in ice water, hang us up by the toes—anything!” NASA Locations As an agency of the federal government, NASA makes its headquarters in Washington DC. There, under the leadership of its chief officer, called the administrator, it oversees the work of scientists, engineers, managers, and other personnel at ten field centers and additional test facilities across the country.