It's been precisely 31 years since a shy young woman with a doctorate in astrophysics, a mean tennis serve and a mega-galactic smile took off in the Space Shuttle Challenger, orbited the earth for six days, and powered through a major glass ceiling by becoming the first American woman in space.
That young woman was Sally K. Ride. She died of pancreatic cancer two years ago, and her friend Lynn Sherr -- who covered the Space Shuttle program for ABC News -- has written a comprehensive biography of Ride.
Lynn Sherr joins Sheilah Kast by phone.
Sherr is coming to Baltimore to speak about the biography at the Ivy Bookshop tomorrow at 7 p.m. More information here.
Sherr_tells_us_more_about_Ride.mp3
Lynn Sherr talks about Ride's ticket into space, and her vision for NASA.
