Sally Ride, 1951–2012

Sally Ride got a taste of the challenges that came with being the first female U.S. astronaut soon after NASA picked her to fly in the June 1983 launch of the shuttle Challenger. One reporter asked Ride, then 32, if she would cry on the job; another wondered whether she would wear a bra in space. Johnny Carson joked that the shuttle would be delayed while Ride found a handbag to match her shoes. “It’s too bad this society isn’t further along,” Ride said.

Born and raised in Southern California, Ride always had a keen interest in science, said the Los Angeles Times. But even as a straight-A high school student, tennis seemed her likeliest career path: She was ranked 18th nationally on the junior circuit, and Billie Jean King encouraged her to become a professional. “But she decided she didn’t have sufficient dedication to the game,” and pursued a physics career instead. While she was finishing a doctorate in astrophysics at Stanford, she “answered a want ad” for astronauts with science training. More than 8,300 applied, and she was among 35 chosen.

Ride excelled at NASA, said the Associated Press, and was chosen to help operate a robotic arm on the space shuttle. She quickly became a star; the launch of her first mission was watched by a crowd of 250,000 people at Cape Canaveral, Fla., many of them wearing T-shirts saying “Ride, Sally Ride.” Feminist icons Gloria Steinem and Jane Fonda were among those present. Ride flew again in October 1984, but the Challenger explosion in 1986 denied her a third trip to space.

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Ride’s legacy as a trailblazer “was one that she was reluctant to embrace,” said The Washington Post. She shunned media attention and refused to allow NASA to sell merchandise bearing her name. Instead, she threw her energies into “bringing the excitement of science to children,” founding an educational company and writing several books for children.

Once asked what she most remembered about her spaceflight, Ride didn’t grasp for historical significance. “It was fun,” she said. “In fact, I’m sure it was the most fun that I will ever have in my life.”