Torch, Olympic (and plaque), Sally Ride
name: label: Owner
content: Sally K. Ride
notes: label: Summary
content: This torch and accompanying plaque are from Dr. Sally K. Ride's participation in the 2002 Olympic Torch Relay which preceded the Winter Games in Salt Lake City. The photograph shows her carrying the torch through San Diego, CA on January 14, 2002. The theme for torchbearers that year was "Inspire"-- torchbearers were nominated on the basis of how they inspired others.
label: Summary
content: Sally Ride became the first American woman in space when she flew aboard STS-7 in 1983. Her second and last space mission was STS-41G in 1984. A physicist with a Ph.D., she joined the astronaut corps in 1978 as a part of the first class of astronauts recruited specifically for the Space Shuttle Program. Viewed as a leader in the NASA community, she served on the Rogers Commission after the Challenger disaster in 1986 as well as the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) in 2003. She also led the task force that produced a visionary strategic planning report in 1987 titled, “NASA Leadership and America’s Future in Space,” but known popularly as the Ride Report.
label: Summary
content: After she retired from NASA in 1987, Dr. Ride taught first at Stanford and later at the University of California, San Diego. Until her death in 2012, she was president and CEO of Sally Ride Science, a company that promoted science education.
label: Summary
content: Dr. Ride’s partner, Dr. Tam O’Shaughnessy, donated the torch and plaque to the Museum in 2013.
place: label: Country of Origin
content: United States of America
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Air and Space Museum Collection
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Tam O'Shaughnessy
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Air and Space Museum
identifier: label: Inventory Number
content: A20140199000
objectType: label: Type
content: MEMORABILIA-Events
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: CC0
physicalDescription: label: Materials
content: Wood
label: Materials
content: Synthetic Veneer
label: Materials
content: Synthetic Printed Decals
label: Materials
content: Non-Magnetic White Metal
label: Materials
content: Copper Alloy
label: Materials
content: Iron Alloy
label: Materials
content: Glass
label: Materials
content: Photograph
label: Materials
content: Plastic
label: Dimensions
content: Torch Overall: 10.2 × 83.8cm (4 × 33 in.)
label: Dimensions
content: Board Overall: 36.8 × 74.9 × 15.2cm (14 1/2 × 29 1/2 × 6 in.)