Former astronauts Jon McBride laid a wreath at the U. S. Astronaut Hall of Fame honoring Sally K. Ride.

Former astronauts Jon McBride, left, and Bob Crippen, center, along with Kennedy Space Center director Bob Cabana, also a former astronaut, laid a wreath at the U. S. Astronaut Hall of Fame honoring Sally K. Ride, who became America's first woman in space in 1983. Following her death on July 23, 2012, Ride is being remembered for her service to NASA and for her efforts to encourage children to study math, science and technology. Crippen was commander on both of Ride's space shuttle missions. McBride was pilot on her second flight. Ride was inducted into the Astronaut Hall of Fame in 2003.

A California-born physicist, she broke the gender barrier 29 years ago when she rode to orbit aboard space shuttle Challenger on STS-7. Ride subsequently served, again as a mission specialist, on STS-41G in 1984. Following her career with NASA, in 2001 Ride founded her own company, Sally Ride Science, to pursue her long-time passion of motivating youth -- especially girls and young women -- to pursue careers in technical fields.
Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann