Taking a Ride into Space
By Jane Runyon

investigation	universe	public
take-off	purpose	astronaut
elementary	flown	capsule
during	reality	committee
flights	ranked	orbit

Directions: Fill in each blank with the word that best completes the reading comprehension.

     The 1980's were busy years for Sally Ride. During the 1980's, Sally was able to see many of her childhood dreams come true. She had always been interested in science. She was very athletic. In 1978, she was accepted into the first (1)  _______________________   class to accept women. Her goal was to be part of the NASA astronaut team and explore space. That dream became a (2)  _______________________   on June 18, 1983.
     Sally Ride grew up in California. She was a good student. She didn't spend all of her time with books, however. She also enjoyed playing tennis. She became so good at playing tennis that she was (3)  _______________________   with other good players from all over the country. In college, she used her love of science to complete a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in physics. While working on her master's degree at Stanford, she started doing research on astrophysics. This is a study of how physics affects the (4)  _______________________   and everything that makes up the universe like planets, stars, suns, and the like.
     It didn't take Sally Ride long before she realized that space travel was in her future. She began astronaut training in 1978. (5)  _______________________   her training, she was responsible for keeping communications open between the space vehicle and mission control. No American woman had been allowed to be a member of the (6)  _______________________   crew at that point. Two Russian women had already (7)  _______________________   in space. Valentina Tereshkova pioneered space flights for women in 1963. It wasn't until 1982 that Svetlana Savitskaya became the second woman to see space first hand.
     Sally Ride learned all she could about space travel. She worked and trained right next to the men who took the flights. Her chance to make history came in 1983 when she became a crewmember on the Space Shuttle Challenger. Five people flew that mission. Their job was to put two new communications satellites into (8)  _______________________   around Earth. They were to be the first crew to use a robotic arm to release the satellites. They were also going to use that same robotic arm to catch satellites that had served their (9)  _______________________   and bring them back to earth. Sally Ride was in charge of that job.
     Sally Ride's first mission led to a second mission in 1984, also on board Challenger. During her training for a third mission, disaster struck NASA. In January of 1986, the Challenger mission carrying the first teacher into space broke into pieces during (10)  _______________________  . All future (11)  _______________________   were put on hold. Sally Ride was asked to be part of a (12)  _______________________   appointed by the President of the United States to investigate the accident. No one wanted future crews lost if there was a problem in the space program.
     When the (13)  _______________________   was completed, Sally Ride was assigned to NASA headquarters in Washington, D.C. She would never return to space travel. Her priorities from that time on were to educate young people about space travel. She wanted the world to see the great possibilities that space travel held for the future of the people of the world. She had spent a total of 343 hours in space. She had seen first hand the experiments that could bring new technology through space exploration. She has taught physics to college students. She started her own company. This company creates science programs for (14)  _______________________   and middle school students. She wants girls to know that there is a place for them in the scientific world.
     Sally Ride has put her experiences into books for school children to read. She has written The Third Planet (a story about Earth), Exploring Earth From Space and To Earth and Back (about her own experiences in space travel), Voyager, and The Mystery of Mars. Look these books up in your school or (15)  _______________________   library. Check them out and take yourself on a journey to space. Maybe some of Sally Ride's enthusiasm will rub off on you.

Name _____________________________

Date ___________________

1.	Sally Ride was the third woman to be sent into space. False True

2.	What was Sally Ride's degree from college in? Physics Politics Biology Physical science

3.	What sport did Sally Ride excel in as a young woman? Bowling Basketball Golf Tennis

4.	What goal was Sally Ride trying to achieve when she began writing books and creating educational programs?

5.	Why was Sally Ride's career as an astronaut cut short?

6.	What job did Sally Ride have during her training to be an astronaut? Navigation Communications Mission commander Engineering

7.	What did Sally Ride control on her first space flight? A robotic arm Communications Graphing the stars Landing

8.	What is Sally Ride's native state? Nevada Texas California Florida

Taking a Ride into Space
By Jane Runyon

Answer Key

     The 1980's were busy years for Sally Ride. During the 1980's, Sally was able to see many of her childhood dreams come true. She had always been interested in science. She was very athletic. In 1978, she was accepted into the first (1)  astronaut   class to accept women. Her goal was to be part of the NASA astronaut team and explore space. That dream became a (2)  reality   on June 18, 1983.
     Sally Ride grew up in California. She was a good student. She didn't spend all of her time with books, however. She also enjoyed playing tennis. She became so good at playing tennis that she was (3)  ranked   with other good players from all over the country. In college, she used her love of science to complete a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in physics. While working on her master's degree at Stanford, she started doing research on astrophysics. This is a study of how physics affects the (4)  universe   and everything that makes up the universe like planets, stars, suns, and the like.
     It didn't take Sally Ride long before she realized that space travel was in her future. She began astronaut training in 1978. (5)  During   her training, she was responsible for keeping communications open between the space vehicle and mission control. No American woman had been allowed to be a member of the (6)  capsule   crew at that point. Two Russian women had already (7)  flown   in space. Valentina Tereshkova pioneered space flights for women in 1963. It wasn't until 1982 that Svetlana Savitskaya became the second woman to see space first hand.
     Sally Ride learned all she could about space travel. She worked and trained right next to the men who took the flights. Her chance to make history came in 1983 when she became a crewmember on the Space Shuttle Challenger. Five people flew that mission. Their job was to put two new communications satellites into (8)  orbit   around Earth. They were to be the first crew to use a robotic arm to release the satellites. They were also going to use that same robotic arm to catch satellites that had served their (9)  purpose   and bring them back to earth. Sally Ride was in charge of that job.
     Sally Ride's first mission led to a second mission in 1984, also on board Challenger. During her training for a third mission, disaster struck NASA. In January of 1986, the Challenger mission carrying the first teacher into space broke into pieces during (10)  take-off  . All future (11)  flights   were put on hold. Sally Ride was asked to be part of a (12)  committee   appointed by the President of the United States to investigate the accident. No one wanted future crews lost if there was a problem in the space program.
     When the (13)  investigation   was completed, Sally Ride was assigned to NASA headquarters in Washington, D.C. She would never return to space travel. Her priorities from that time on were to educate young people about space travel. She wanted the world to see the great possibilities that space travel held for the future of the people of the world. She had spent a total of 343 hours in space. She had seen first hand the experiments that could bring new technology through space exploration. She has taught physics to college students. She started her own company. This company creates science programs for (14)  elementary   and middle school students. She wants girls to know that there is a place for them in the scientific world.
     Sally Ride has put her experiences into books for school children to read. She has written The Third Planet (a story about Earth), Exploring Earth From Space and To Earth and Back (about her own experiences in space travel), Voyager, and The Mystery of Mars. Look these books up in your school or (15)  public   library. Check them out and take yourself on a journey to space. Maybe some of Sally Ride's enthusiasm will rub off on you.

Answers to Reading Comprehension Questions

1

True
2

Physics
3

  Tennis
4  Possible answer: Sally Ride wanted young people to become interested in science. She particularly wanted young women to know that there is a place for them in the scientific world.
5  Possible answer: While Sally was training for her third flight, the Challenger shuttle broke apart on take-off. All flights into space were cancelled until the accident could be investigated. Sally went on to do other things instead of waiting for the flights to resume.
6

Communications
7

A robotic arm
8

California