Feature Presentation

Can playing tennis help you as an astronaut? It did for the first American woman in space, Dr. Sally Ride.

On June 18, 1983, Dr. Sally Ride, astrophysicist and tennis player, became the first American woman in space. At age, 32 she was also the youngest American to be launched into orbit and into the history books.

Sally Kristen Ride was born in southern California in 1951. The daughter of a political science college instructor and a teacher, she showed natural athletic ability and a competitive spirit at an early age. She played football and baseball with the boys in the neighbor. When her parents took tennis lessons, her mother bought her a tennis racket and encouraged her to play tennis instead of "trying to become a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team" as young Sally wanted.

Ride started playing tennis when she was ten, loved the game and excelled at the sport. When Ride was eleven she began taking lessons with 4 time national champion, Alice Marble. Sally played whenever she could - she didn't care if it was against a boy, a girl or an adult - she just wanted to play tennis. She was nationally ranked 18th as a junior player and she received a scholarship to a private girls' high school in Los Angeles. She was the captain of her high school team in her senior year.

Ride work hard on and off the court - straight A's - and she loved science. One of her high school teachers had really excited her about science. What Ride was most intrigued with was the "scientific method" and how scientists used it to solve difficult questions.

She attended Swathmore College in Pennsylvania for a few terms. One sports writer called her "the best female college (tennis) player in the East". In the same article it said the Ride hoped she could work in space research and that she hoped she had what it took to make "the space team" one day. She left Swathmore to become a professional tennis player, but decided that she was not good enough to become a top ranked player.

She returned to California and attended Stanford University. She earned dual bachelor degrees in physics and English, and then a masters and doctorate in astrophysics. She had never thought about becoming an astronaut, but knew that she wanted to be in the space program.

While at Stanford, tennis legend Billie Jean King watched her play a tennis match and encouraged her to turn professional. Ride wanted to play tennis professional and it was a tough decision after receiving such praise from someone like Billie Jean King. She was torn between her love of tennis and becoming a scientist. She ultimately chose to stay in school.

While she was a research assistant at Stanford, she saw an advertisement in the school newspaper. NASA was looking for new astronauts. Over 8000 men and women applied, but only 35 were selected and Dr. Sally Ride was one of them!

The group was known as the TFNG (Thirty-Five New Guys). This group of astronauts was very different then the previous candidates NASA had selected. In the past NASA had selected mostly military pilots. This group had men and women from diverse ethnic and science backgrounds. NASA's objective was no longer just to get into space - it was for groups of people to work in space. They needed team players.

Working in space meant tough physical and mental challenges as well. In space in the absence of gravity the use of leg and other muscles is diminished since you just "float". Muscles atrophy, including the heart muscles. Excellent physical conditioning was essential and Ride continued to play tennis and run as her form of exercise. (No formal physical training is initiated in the astronaut corp - you are expected to stay in top physical condition.)

As an astronaut, she spent two years as a team member in the development of a remote mechanical arm (RMS) that would be used to deploy and retrieve satellites.

Ride acted as the "Cap Com" (Capsule Communicator) at NASA's Mission Control for the second and third flights of the space shuttle. She was the first woman to ever have that responsibility. The Cap Com is the only person that talks to the astronauts in the shuttle from the ground. They are known for being very cool and calm under pressure.

Veteran astronaut Robert Crippen was chosen as the commander of STS-7, the first shuttle mission that would use the RMS and deploy 2 satellites. Crippen said of Ride, "She's a fine engineer. You like people who stay calm under duress. And Sally can do that." He recognized her mental toughness, appreciated her as a "team player" and her practical approach to problem solving.

But the commander recognized one other thing - Sally Ride could manipulate the mechanical robot arm better than anyone, and he attributed this to her extraordinary hand-eye coordination skills developed as a tennis player. Subsequently, she was chosen to serve on STS-7 - the first woman to be named as a shuttle crew member.

Ride's old Stanford roommate Molly Tyson said of her, "I've never seen Sally trip, on or off the court, physically or intellectually."

Dr. Ride has left NASA and since 1989 has been on the faculty of the University of California at San Diego as a physics professor. She is also the director of the California Space Institute. She is involved in Kidsat (http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/kidsat) and YES - she still plays TENNIS!

You can write to Dr. Sally Ride at the address listed below. Please include a self-addressed, self-stamped envelope for a response.