Includes bibliographical references and index.

California girl -- 40-Love, Sally -- Wait! -- Thirty-five new guys -- First -- Reentry -- Explosions -- New territory -- Down to Earth -- Sally Ride science -- Duty calls -- The secret -- A very private thing -- Impact.

A member of the first astronaut class to include women, Ride broke through a quarter-century of white male fighter jocks when NASA chose her for the seventh shuttle mission, cracking the celestial ceiling and inspiring several generations of women. She also served on the panels investigating the Challenger explosion and the Columbia disintegration that killed all aboard. In both instances she faulted NASA's rush to meet mission deadlines and its organizational failures. Sherr also writes about Ride's scrupulously guarded personal life to show us a fascinating woman whose life intersected with revolutionary social and scientific changes in America.

Text in English.