Sally Ride

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Sally Kristen Ride (born 1951) is an American astrophysicist and astronaut. She was born in Encino, California. With a Ph.D. in physics from Stanford University, she joined NASA in 1978, where she was an astronaut (1979–87) and helped design the robot arm for the space shuttle. In 1983 she became the first American woman in space. She also served (1986, 2003) on the commissions that investigated the Space Shuttle Challenger and Columbia disasters. In 1989 she became professor of physics and director of the California Space Institute at the University of California, San Diego.