Dr. Sally Ride (1951 – 2012) is one of the better-known individuals to be honored by the US Mint’s American Women Quarters Program. She was the first American woman and the third woman overall to go into space, and her pitch-perfect surname has helped to keep her in the public lexicon. She was even mentioned in a Billy Joel song.
So, it makes sense that she was part of the first class of honorees in 2022. Let’s discuss her important life and contributions to the world of science.
Sally Kristen Ride was born in Los Angeles on May 26, 1951. Her father was a political science professor at Santa Monica College, while her mother served as a volunteer counselor at a nearby women’s prison.
Ride showed a curiosity and interest in science from an early age. Although her interest seemed a bit odd to her parents, who were not science-oriented, they nonetheless encouraged her to pursue her dreams, science or otherwise.
One of her other interests grew to take precedence in her adolescence: tennis. Ride was a talented athlete and became one of the top youth tennis players in southern California by the time she was 12.
She eventually parlayed her tennis and academic talents into a partial scholarship to a private, all-girls school and a full scholarship to Swarthmore College. After three semesters there, she returned to her home to pursue a professional tennis career.
However, the physical demands of life as a professional athlete proved to be too much for Ride. So, she turned her attention back to her scientific interests and ultimately continued her studies at Stanford University.
In 1973, she completed a double major as part of her bachelor’s coursework. One of the majors was physics, unsurprisingly, but Ride also cultivated her interest in Shakespeare and earned a concurrent major in English.
Ride then remained at Stanford for an additional five years of study, earning both her master’s degree and a doctorate in physics. She was now a full-fledged physicist at age 27.
Before she graduated in 1978, however, Ride had applied to NASA and been accepted as an astronaut candidate. She began her initial training and evaluation as a candidate in August 1978, and received her clearance as a Mission Specialist after a year.
NASA doesn’t just immediately launch people into space most of the time, however. It was no different in Ride’s case – after her 1979 graduation from training, she spent the next four years as a capsule communicator with Mission Control.
Finally, Ride was selected to make her historic flight into space in 1983. She launched as a crew member on STS-7 in June of that year. In doing so, she made history as the first American woman to visit space and only the third – after two cosmonauts – to leave the planet overall.
Ride also visited space the following year. She was a Mission Specialist on STS-41G, which launched from Kennedy Space Center in October 1984.
She was slated to return to space for a third time in June 1985. However, the tragedy of the Challenger explosion in January 1986 caused NASA to halt mission training.
Ride would never fly to space again. She served on the Presidential Commission to investigate the accident, and then was assigned as an assistant to the Administrator and tasked with long-range and strategic planning.
Her tenure at NASA ended in 1987, when she returned to Stanford to work at the Stanford University Center for International Security and Arms Control. Two years later, Ride joined the faculty at the University of California – San Diego to become the director of the California Space Institute. She also served as a physics professor while at the school.
She ultimately resigned from her directorship in 1996, only seven years after taking the role. However, Ride remained a physics professor at UCSD until her retirement in 2007.
Ride also began her own company in 2001 as a way to motivate young women and girls to pursue their interests in STEM activities. The company, Sally Ride Science, remains in operation today and offers classes and science books to K – 12 students.
Unfortunately, Dr. Ride’s life came to an end earlier than expected. She passed away at her home on July 23, 2012 at the age of 61. Her death came only 15 months after she had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
Needless to say, Dr. Sally Ride did not escape notice or esteem from the general public. Her contributions to the world of physics and aviation garnered her entry into several halls of fame.
On the merits of her scientific work alone, Ride was inducted to the Astronaut Hall of Fame and the National Aviation Hall of Fame. She received the NASA Space Flight Medal twice, the Jefferson Award, the Thompson Award, and the Lindbergh Eagle.
She was also recognized for her contributions to women. She was a member of both the California Women’s Hall of Fame and the National Women’s Hall of Fame.
Both of these elements culminated in her receipt of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest honor available for a civilian. Sadly, this honor occurred in 2013, and had to be awarded posthumously.
Ride has been honored as the namesake for vessels, schools, and satellites many times over the years. She also appeared on a first-class postage stamp in 2018.
Lastly, Ride is renowned as a pioneer in the LGBT community. Among her other firsts, she was also the first astronaut recognized as LGBT, and was the first confirmed LGBT person commemorated on US currency.
That currency, of course, is the 2022 quarter. Her 25-cent piece was the second ever issued during the American Women Quarters Program, and was only second to the release of Maya Angelou’s quarter.
As is the case with all AW quarters, the obverse of Ride’s coin is unchanged. It still features the right-facing bust of George Washington that has adorned the quarter since 1932.
The reverse of the coin honors Dr. Ride’s groundbreaking journey into space. She is depicted in her flight suit, looking out her shuttle window upon the earth.
The image is inspired by her own words on the matter. She stated that “when I wasn’t working, I was usually at a window looking down at Earth.”
Otherwise, the design is simple. It identifies the face value of the quarter, the country of its origin, and Dr. Sally Ride in unadorned text circling the edge of the coin.
For someone with as full of a life as Sally Ride, the quarter might seem a bit less grand than she deserves. However, Dr. Ride remained committed to the value of science her entire life, and any kind of extra ornamentation just wouldn’t fit who she was.