Sally Rides Recounts Her Historic Space Flight

KPBS | By KPBS Public Broadcasting

Published December 3, 2008 at 7:49 AM PST

This story was published more than 16 years ago.

On June 18, 1983, Sally Ride rocketed into space aboard the space shuttle Challenger. She was the first American woman to fly in space. On the 25th anniversary of her historic spaceflight, we'll tal

Originally aired on June 17, 2008.

Tom Fudge : On June 18th of 1983, Sally Ride blasted off in the space shuttle Challenger from Kennedy Space Center, and she made history. She became the first American woman to enter space. She flew another mission the following year. In 1986 she, like the rest of us, saw the Challenger explode, killing all of its occupants. Ride served on the Presidential Commission that investigated the accident.

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Today, and for the past nearly 20 years, Dr. Ride is a professor of Physics at UC San Diego. She's a native of Southern California, having grown up in L.A. Today she joins me in studio to look back on her historic flight, which marks its 25th anniversary tomorrow, and to talk about the future of the American space program.

Guest :

Sally Ride , former NASA astronaut and president and CEO of Sally Ride Science , which is dedicated to supporting girls' and boys' interests in math, science and technology, through their programs and publications.