Sally Ride achieved fame as the first American woman in space. This informative and inspiring story details Ride’s amazing journey. Her knowledge of astrophysics, as well as her physical fitness, made her an ideal candidate for the 1983 Challenger (STS-7) mission. During training, she was required to spend long periods of time in simulators. Still, Ride found the psychological training to be far more difficult than the physical training. She also spent years learning how to operate and repair the space shuttle. During the mission, Ride operated the Remote Manipulator System, better known as the robotic arm.