Reading Explorer 2, Unit 4: Women in Space

Narrator:
The American space agency NASA began in 1958. It put a man on the surface of the moon in
1969. Advances in technology in the 1970s allowed spacecraft to travel long distances, searching
for and discovering new places in our solar system. NASA’s space shuttle program, begun in
1981, has been a huge success.

In the early days of NASA, space was a man’s world, but on the 18th of June, 1983, Sally Ride
was the first American woman in space.

Ride was part of a group of six women to be the first female astronaut in space. Sally soon got
the job. She went into space on the space shuttle Challenger.

Sally Ride was the first American woman, but she was not the first woman in space. The Soviet
Union sent Valentina Tereshkova into space back in 1963. While Tereshkova was in space for
three days, Ride spent six days in space.

Back on Earth, Ride gave talks across the United States. She had a powerful message. She spoke
about the mission and why it was important for women everywhere. Many people traveled to
listen to her and women and young girls especially identified with her story.

Ride went into space one more time, in 1984. And after her, there were other women astronauts,
and other female firsts. Mae Jemison was a doctor of medicine. She became the first African-
American woman in space with the space shuttle Endeavor in 1992. Then, in 1995, Eileen
Collins became the first female shuttle pilot with the space shuttle Discovery. Collins flew two
more times, in 1999 and 2005.

So, as a result of Sally Ride, and many more female astronauts after her, young women, as well
as many young men, now dream of becoming astronauts, and a journey into space.