NASA Leadership and America's Future in Space: A Report to the Administrator

63 pp. A report to the administrator by Dr. Sally K. Ride, August 1987. Ride was the first American woman, the third woman to fly in space, and the youngest American astronaut to visit space (she was 32). Includes: Preface; Introduction; Leadership in Space; Strategic Option Development; Leadership Initiatives: Mission to Planet Earth; Exploration of the Solar System; Outpost on the Moon; Humans to Mars; Programmatic Assessment; Evaluation of Initiatives; Conclusion; Additional Studies; References; Picture Credits; Acknowledgements. Ride, Sally K. (26 May 1951–23 July 2012), astronaut, physicist, and science educator, was born Sally Kristen Ride in Los Angeles, California, the elder child of Joyce and Dale B. Ride. Dale, a World War II veteran, taught high school social studies before teaching political science at Santa Monica Community College. Joyce worked briefly at UCLA and volunteered for decades for women’s prison reform. Ride’s younger sister, Karen, whom Sally called “Bear” (a nickname that stuck permanently), grew up to become an ordained Presbyterian minister. Ride attributed her self-contained disposition to her mother’s Norwegian heritage and her introverted family. - American National Biography