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Biography
Sally Kristen Ride (May 26, 1951 – July 23, 2012) was an American astronaut and physicist. Born in Los Angeles, she joined NASA in 1978, and in 1983 became the first American woman and the third woman to fly in space, after cosmonauts Valentina Tereshkova in 1963 and Svetlana Savitskaya in 1982. She was the youngest American astronaut to have flown in space, having done so at the age of 32.
Awards & recognition
- Presidential Medal of Freedom · 2013
- National Aviation Hall of Fame · 2007
- California Hall of Fame · 2006
- Theodore Roosevelt Award · 2005
- National Women's Hall of Fame · 1988
Show all 14 awards →
- International Space Hall of Fame · 1985
- Fellow of the American Physical Society
- Harmon Trophy
- Library of Congress Living Legend
- NASA Space Flight Medal
- Science Writing Award
- Texas Women's Hall of Fame
- United States Astronaut Hall of Fame
- Women in Aviation International
