Sally Kristen Ride First American Woman in Space Born: May 26, 1951 Our future lies with today's kids and tomorrow's space exploration. --Dr. Sally Ride -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sally Kristen Ride was born on May 26, 1951 in Encino, California (near Los Angeles). Sally started playing tennis at age 10, and became an excellent tennis player. She won a tennis scholarship to Westlake School for Girls in Los Angeles. After graduation in 1968 she attended Swarthmore College, but dropped out to pursue a …showed first 75 words of 601 total…

…showed last 75 words of 601 total…and middle school girls across the country. Dr. Ride has received numerous awards, including the Jefferson Award for Public Service, the Women's Research and Education Institute's American Woman Award, and twice awarded the National Spaceflight Medal. An advocate for improved science education, Ride has written four children's books, "To Space and Back", "Voyager: An Adventure to the Edge of the Solar System", "The Third Planet : Exploring the Earth from Space", and "The Mystery of Mars".