How Is Sally Ride A Hero

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Sally Ride was born on May 26th, 1951, in Los Angeles, California. In 1978, Sally earned

a PH.D. Degree in physics from Stanford University and became an astronaut candidate. In

1987, Ride resigned from the astronaut program to accept a fellowship at Stanford University

Center for International Security and Arms Control. In 1989, Ride became a professor of physics

at the University of California in San Diego and the director of the California Space Institute

(Hannigan.”The World Book Encyclopedia.” 2011 page 336, Print). Sally Ride was a hero

because she was brave, was an example of Championing Children, and was a Community

Crusader.



The first reason that Sally Ride was a hero was because of her bravery. In 1978, Sally …show more content…

Page 335, Print). Ride has made

and launched two shuttle flights. The first was a communication satellite for the Canadian and

Indonesian governments. On the second mission, in 1984, Sally used the remote manipulator

arm to launch a satellite designed to study the sun’s effect on earth’s weather (Hannigan.”The

World Book Encyclopedia.” 2011. Page 336, Print). Sally Ride was very brave and did whatever

she was asked, even if it meant that she would have to risk her life.


The second reason for Ride’s heroism is that she was an example of Championing

Children. Sally Ride developed space related sites for those who are interested in pursuing a

career that deals with what Sally did as her job. In 2001, Ride also founded ‘Sally Ride Science

Club;’ a very similar organization that dealt with and talked about her career and is a club for

girls. This company makes engaging science related classroom programs and publications for

school students in the United States of America, and provides training for all of the teachers.

‘Sally Ride Science Club’ is to encourage elementary and middle school girls in science, …show more content…

Ever since Ride’s famous ride, 37 women have flown on space shuttles;

representing about 13 percent of the total number of shuttle travelers (Sally Ride, myhero.com).

Sally Ride was a great example of Championing Children because she loved to help children.


The last example of Sally Ride’s heroism is that she was a Community Crusader. Ride

rode on the Challenger three times, including after the huge explosion (Sally Ride,

www2.Ihric.org). Sally investigated and helped fix the Challenger after the explosion. In

February of 1986, Ride was appointed to the presidential commission established to investigate

the accident. In March of 2003, Sally Ride was appointed to a federal board to investigate

Columbia, the shuttle, that broke apart over Texas as it reentered Earth’s atmosphere. Ride

thought it to be depressing to spend the 20th anniversary of her flight deciphering the events

that led to Columbia’s destruction and the deaths of seven astronauts. Both of the flights fell

because of miscommunication (Hannigan.” The World Book Encyclopedia.” 2011. Page 336,

Print). The Challenger fell because of teleconferences and O-rings, but for Columbia it

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