WASHINGTON (U.S. Mint PR) – The United States Mint (Mint) is pleased to announce the official designs for the first five coins in the American Women Quarters Program. Authorized by Public Law 116-330, this four-year program features coins with reverse (tails) designs emblematic of the accomplishments and contributions of trailblazing American women. Beginning in 2022 and continuing through 2025, the Mint will issue five quarters in each of these years.

The ethnically, racially, and geographically diverse group of individuals honored through this program reflects a wide range of accomplishments and fields, including suffrage, civil rights, abolition, government, humanities, science, space, and the arts. The 2022 coins recognize the achievements of Maya Angelou, Dr. Sally Ride, Wilma Mankiller, Nina Otero-Warren, and Anna May Wong.

“These inspiring coin designs tell the stories of five extraordinary women whose contributions are indelibly etched in American culture,” said United States Mint Acting Director Alison L. Doone. “Generations to come will look at coins bearing these designs and be reminded of what can be accomplished with vision, determination and a desire to improve opportunities for all.”

Video Caption: A brief overview of how records for the longest spaceflight have advanced over the years.

Left: The launch of Space Shuttle Challenger on STS-7; center: Ride on Challenger’s Flight Deck; right: Challenger as seen from the SPAS-01 satellite. (Credit: NASA)

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SAN DIEGO (USPS PR) — Sally Ride, America’s first woman in space, a pioneering astronaut, brilliant physicist and dedicated educator who inspired the nation, will be commemorated on a Forever stamp tomorrow.

The Sally Ride Forever stamp 5 p.m. PDT dedication ceremony, free and open to the public, will take place at the Price Center, University of California San Diego. Ride served as a professor of physics at the university, which also is home to Sally Ride Science @ U C San Diego, a non-profit organization she co-founded to inspire young people in science, engineering, technology and math (STEM) and to promote STEM literacy.

Followers of the U.S. Postal Service’s Facebook page can view the ceremony live at Facebook.com/USPS. The stamps may be pre-ordered now at this link for delivery shortly after tomorrow’s issuance.

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The first American woman to fly in space, Sally Ride, will be honored with a postage stamp in 2018, the U.S. Postal Service has announced. Ride, who passed away in 2012, was selected as an astronaut in 1978. She made her first flight aboard the space shuttle Challenger in 1983. Ride flew again the following year aboard Challenger on her final flight into space. During her time at the space […]

PASADENA, Calif. (NASA PR) — NASA has named the site where twin agency spacecraft impacted the moon Monday in honor of the late astronaut, Sally K. Ride, who was America’s first woman in space and a member of the probes’ mission team.

Last Friday, Ebb and Flow, the two spacecraft comprising NASA’s Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission, were commanded to descend into a lower orbit that would result in an impact Monday on a mountain near the moon’s north pole. The formation-flying duo hit the lunar surface as planned at 2:28:51 p.m. PST (5:28:51 p.m. EST) and 2:29:21 p.m. PST (5:29:21 p.m. EST) at a speed of 3,760 mph (1.7 kilometers per second). The location of the Sally K. Ride Impact Site is on the southern face of an approximately 1.5 mile- (2.5 -kilometer) tall mountain near a crater named Goldschmidt.

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Some very sad news to report: Sally Ride, who became the first American woman in space aboard the shuttle Challenger on June 18, 1983, has passed away after a long battle with cancer. Ride was the first to break through into the all-male astronaut corps and inspired women everywhere. She will be sadly missed.

Below is a statement published on the Sally Ride Science website, followed by tributes from President Barack Obama and NASA.

“Sally Ride died peacefully on July 23^rd, 2012 after a courageous 17-month battle with pancreatic cancer. Sally lived her life to the fullest, with boundless energy, curiosity, intelligence, passion, joy, and love. Her integrity was absolute; her spirit was immeasurable; her approach to life was fearless.

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The Augustine panel will include XCOR CEO Jeff Greason and former astronaut Sally Ride, among others.

NASA: Mike Griffin out, Charlie Bolden in?
Orlando Sentinel

Still, there are several names out there, and one has been getting mentioned in the last few days more than the rest: former astronaut Charlie Bolden.

Maj. Gen. Charles Frank “Charlie” Bolden, Jr. is a 63-year-old retired U.S. Marine Corps officer who served from 1981 to 1994 as an astronaut. A 1968 graduate of the United States Naval Academy, he became a Marine aviator and test pilot. After his time with NASA, he became deputy commandant of midshipmen at the naval academy.

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