Introduction of the Sally K. Ride Congressional Gold Medal

Floor Speech

Mr. PETERS of California. Mr. Speaker, today on the 30th anniversary of Dr. Sally Ride's historic journey into space, I am introducing the Sally K. Ride Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2013 because of what Dr. Ride meant to this country as a pioneer.

Dr. Ride was the first American woman to fly into space. Flying on the seventh space shuttle flight, which was launched on June 18, 1983, she helped deploy two communications satellites including piloting the shuttle's robotic arm to capture a satellite for the first time. Dr. Ride's flight into space came at a time when women in the United States were shattering the glass ceiling becoming leaders in science and math.

Dr. Ride's extraordinary courage and pioneering spirit paved the way for future female astronauts. Her ride to space was an inspiration for young women to dream. As Gloria Steinem wrote at the time, ``millions of little girls are going to sit by their television sets and see they can be astronauts, heroes, explorers and scientists.'' As the Associate Administrator for the Shuttle Program, Lieutenant General James Abrahamson stated in 1983, the next ``milestone'' would be ``when ladies go into space and nobody notices, they just take it for granted.'' Thirty years after Sally Ride's historic flight we know that to be true.

What made Dr. Ride truly extraordinary was her work after 1983 to ensure that the children of our country would be able to follow in her footsteps and create their own legacies. After flying into space one more time in 1984, serving on the Rogers Commission investigating the Challenger disaster, and leading NASA's long range and strategic planning efforts, Dr. Ride left NASA in 1987. She received numerous awards including Jefferson Award for Public Service, the von Braun Award, the Lindbergh Eagle and the NCAA's Theodore Roosevelt Award. She has also twice been awarded the NASA Space Flight Medal. Dr. Ride was also inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame and the Astronaut Hall of Fame. She became a Professor of Physics and Director of the California Space Institute at the University of California, San Diego. While teaching college students, she also endeavored to reach out to young children. Dr. Ride and her life-partner Tam O'Shaughnessy co-wrote six children's books which focused on encouraging children to study science. Dr. Ride also founded EarthKAM (Earth Knowledge Acquired by Middle school students) in 1995, a NASA educational outreach program using cameras onboard the Shuttle and now the International Space Station to enable students, teachers, and the public to learn about Earth from the unique perspective of space. In 2001, she founded a company with the goal of creating entertaining science programs and publications for elementary and middle school students with a focus on girls.

As we look to honor Dr. Ride, it is important to note that Dr. Ride never let her symbolic accomplishments overshadow the importance of her life's work pushing our country to explore and continuing to lead the charge of getting more women into the sciences. Commenting on her inspiring flight in 1983, Dr. Ride stated, ``It's too bad this is such a big deal. It's too bad our society isn't further along.'' This Medal is meant to serve both as a testament to the extraordinary American that Dr. Sally Ride was and as a reminder that we must protect her legacy by being forever vigilant to ensure that future Sally Rides are able to pursue their dreams.

The Navy recently named the next ocean-class auxiliary general oceanographic research ship after her to honor her legacy. As Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus said, ``Sally Ride's career was one of firsts and will inspire generations to come.''

In closing, I believe that awarding this congressional gold medal will be a fitting, though long overdue, recognition by Congress of all Dr. Ride contributed to our great nation.

Source