Women in the US never had the chance to become astronauts until 1983, when Sally Ride became the first American woman to travel to space.
Since Ride's historic trip, more than 40 other American women have traveled to space. On July 23, 2012, Ride died at the age of 61."Sally was a national hero and a powerful role model," former President of the USA, Barack Obama said in a statement. "She inspired generations of young girls to reach for the stars."
Ride became interested in space when she was a kid. "If you asked me when I was 12 whether I wanted to be an astronaut, I'm sire I would have said yes," she said in a 2010 interview. "But I didn't even think about that as a possible career."
After studying physics in college and graduate school, Ride got her chance. She was accepted into NASA's astronaut training program in 1978, and then chosen to be the first American female in space. In 1983, she got into space aboard the Challenger shuttle. "There is no amusement park ride on the Earth that even comes so close," she said.
Ride returned to space on the Challenger a second time in 1984. After that, she remained involved with the space program and also worked to share her love for science with kids. She wrote six science books with others for children, and started her own science education company.
Ride knew that she held a unique place in history. "I realized how important it was for a woman to break that barrier(屏障) and open the door for other women to be able to do the same exciting things that the men had been doing," she said.
