Part of the 101 Freeway Will Be Named in Honor of Trailblazing Astronaut Sally Ride

Encino's Sally Ride became the first American woman in space when she joined the crew of Space Shuttle Challenger in 1983.

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Sally Ride, the first American woman in space, died in 2021 at the age of 61.

Part of the 101 Freeway in the San Fernando Valley will be named in honor of pioneering astronaut Sally Ride, the first American woman in space. 

A resolution passed Tuesday by the state legislature designates part of the freeway in Encino, here hometown, as Dr. Sally Ride Memorial Highway

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Astronaut Sally Ride floats on the Challenger flight deck.
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Sally Ride is pictured with NASA's first female astronaut candidates in Florida in 1978.
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Astronaut Sally Ride, exits the Shuttle Mission Simulator following a training session in the Johnson Space Center’s Mission Simulation and Training Facility.
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Astronaut Sally Ride is pictured with a set of tools on space shuttle Challenger. Her shirt features the acronym TFNG, which stands for thirty-five new guys in reference to the astronaut class of 1978.
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Sally Ride is pictured with her mission crewmates. Front row, left to right: Ride, Commander Bob Crippen, Pilot Frederick Hauck. Back row, left to right: John Fabian, Norm Thagard
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Sally Ride and her crewmates rocket skyward aboard Challenger at 7:33 a.m. EDT on June 18, 1983.
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Astronaut Sally Ride in pictured June 15, 1983 three days before her flight aboard space shuttle Challenger. She is in the cockpit of a T-38 jet.
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Sally Ride takes her seat aboard the space shuttle.
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Astronaut Sally Ride is pictured aboard Challenger.
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Flowers are placed at the Sally Ride Memorial Tree at Johnson Space Center in Texas after the astronaut's death July 23, 2012.

Ride died of cancer in 2012 at 61. 

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“As the first American woman in space, Dr. Sally Ride made history when she shattered the highest glass ceiling,'' said Assemblyman Jesse Gabriel, D-Encino, who authored the resolution. “A proud Valley native, her legacy continues to inspire young people to reach for the stars, and I am immensely proud to help rename a portion of Highway 101 in Encino in her memory.''

Ride’s career as an astronaut began in 1978 when was was one of 35 people selected from 8,000 applicants to be part of  NASA Astronaut Group 8. In 1983, the Stanford University graduate became the first American woman in space as a crew member on the space shuttle Challenger.

Ride remains the youngest American astronaut to have traveled to space, having done so at the age of 32.

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“Sally would be so honored to have part of Highway 101 near her hometown named after her,'' said Tam O'Shaughnessy, Ride's partner of 27 years. “And it is very appropriate -- Sally spent countless hours on 101 driving to school and to tennis tournaments.''

Ride is also the earliest space traveler to be recognized as part of the LGBTQ+ community.

O'Shaughnessy accepted the Presidential Medal of Freedom on behalf of Ride from then-President Barack Obama at the White House in 2013.

Ride retired from NASA in 1987 and began to teach, dedicating herself to encouraging children, especially young girls, to love science. In 2001,

Ride and O'Shaughnessy co-founded Sally Ride Science, an education company devoted to helping kids explore science.

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