Sally K. Ride

America's First Lady of space

By PINK LADY

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Continuing with our "first in flight" theme, LUPEC raises a glass this week to Sally Ride, the first American woman in space.

In 1978, 26-year-old Ride responded to a newspaper ad seeking applicants for the NASA space program. Out of 8,000 applicants, just 35 were selected for the program, and Ride was one of six women among them.

In 1983, Sally Ride made history as the first American woman in space aboard the second flight of the Challenger space shuttle. The following year, she embarked on the Challenger again, this time for an eight-day mission. She was eight months into training for her third Challenger flight when the shuttle tragically exploded in 1986. Dr. Ride was appointed to a presidential commission to investigate the accident later that year.

Since retiring from NASA in 1987, Sally Ride's many pursuits have included a science fellowship at the Center for International Security and Arms Control at Stanford University, a role as director of the California Space Institute at UCSD, and developing a NASA program that lets middle-school classes shoot and download photos of the Earth from space via the internet.

Perhaps our favorite thing about Sally Ride is her mission to encourage young people, especially women, to study science and math. She founded Sally Ride Science in 2001, a company that develops stimulating science programs for kids. She has also authored several books on space for children, designed to pique their interest in learning about science.

Sally Ride celebrated her 58th birthday yesterday. Let's raise one in her honor.

SKY PILOT COCKTAIL

1.25 oz Applejack

0.75 oz Jamaican rum

0.25 oz fresh lime juice

0.25 oz grenadine

Shake in iced cocktail shaker and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

CIN-CIN!