Sally Ride in Space

Date: June 18, 1983 • Location: Washington, United States

Aboard Space Shuttle Challenger, astronaut Sally Ride became the first American woman and third one overall in space.

Space Shuttle Challenger (OV-099) was a Space Shuttle orbiter manufactured by Rockwell International and operated by NASA. Named after the commanding ship of a nineteenth-century scientific expedition that traveled the world, Challenger was the second Space Shuttle orbiter to fly into space after Columbia, and launched on its maiden flight in April 1983. It was destroyed in January 1986 soon after launch in a disaster that killed all seven crew members aboard.