Sally Ride catapulted from telescope‑toting kid in Encino to NASA trailblazer, winning collegiate tennis titles, earning dual Stanford degrees, and acing a Stanford Ph.D. before joining the first astronaut class to admit women. On June 18, 1983 she rode Challenger into orbit, silencing skeptics, mastering the shuttle’s robotic arm, and becoming America’s first—and youngest—woman in space. 

She co‑authored award‑winning kids’ books with longtime partner Tam O’Shaughnessy, and served on the Columbia accident board—making her the only person on both shuttle investigations. Fiercely private until her 2012 obituary revealed her 27‑year partnership, Sally’s legacy endures in classrooms, laboratories, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom that underscores a simple truth: for Dr. Sally Ride, the sky was just the starting line.

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