This is a non-fiction book for young school age juveniles. It is about Sally Ride, who on June 18, 1983, became America's first female astronaut, riding the flaming coat-tails of the Space Shuttle as it orbited the Earth with her crew, the members of NASA's STS-7 Shuttle mission. Sally Ride, born May 26, 1951, lived an amazing life of science and adventure, blazing a path for all women of the world. She died on July 23, 2012, along the way not only demonstrating the capabilities of intelligent women, but working to motivate students of all genders toward careers in science and education. The author, Annie Laura Smith, and her family were in attendance at Cape Canaveral, Florida when Sally blasted off for outer space on her first mission.