“The Right Person for the Job”

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Ride trains with her class, the Thirty-Five New Guys (TFNG). After a year, Ride and classmate John Fabian are assigned to mastering the space shuttle's 50-foot robotic arm (A mechanical arm that can control tools or operate machines). The giant arm is mounted on the side of the shuttle's cargo bay. It is used to grab and move objects while in space.

In 1982, NASA announces the crew for STS-7. Robert Crippen, the first shuttle pilot, will command. Frederick (Rick) Hauck, a TFNG member, will be pilot. The flight will be the first test of the robotic arm's ability to retrieve a satellite. John Fabian and Sally Ride are chosen as mission specialists.

Even though Ride has a Ph.D. and the same training as the men, some people think she has been picked just because she's a woman. Her shuttle commander, Crippen, disagrees. At a press conference, he says, "She is flying with us because she is the very best person for the job. There is no man I would rather have in her place."

Later, NASA adds medical doctor Norm Thagard to the roster. He will study space sickness. With five astronauts, the STS-7 mission now has the largest crew ever to fly in space.

 

Think About It

How do you prove to people that you are the right person for the job without bragging about yourself?

NASA
Astronomer Cathy Imhoff answers students' questions about what it is like to work at NASA.

Celebrate Jamestown
Four hundred years ago, a ship of European settlers landed in what became known as Jamestown, Virginia. What happened in that settlement helped shape American society as we know it today. Learning from those early days could help us settle other places, like Mars.

Safe on Earth
The space shuttle Atlantis safely landed at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, early Thursday morning. The crew wore bright smiles as they stepped out of the spacecraft. Six astronauts - five Americans and one Canadian - had successfully completed a 12-day mission. While in space, they made major additions to the International Space Station, floating in orbit above the Earth.

LESSON PLAN	Lesson 2: Phases of the Moon In this lesson and worksheet, students learn about basic moon phases, and then color in sections of moon according to its pattern.
ONLINE ACTIVITY	The View from Hubble See what the Hubble Space Telescopes sees in this slide show.