sally ride, america s first female astronaut, was 61 years old. gone too soon. ride was a trail blazer who changed the face of the space program. lisa stark worked with sally ride and has her story. good morning. reporter: when sally ride became an astronaut in 1978, it had been an all-male fraternity for nearly two decades. she and five women were part of the astronaut group that year and ride who had a ph.d. in physics drew the lucky straw. launching on the shuttle challenger in 1983. liftoff of sds 7 and america s first woman astronaut. i have to admit i am more excited about that opportunity than i am about, as you say, being a footnote in history. reporter: ride didn t think of herself as making history but later it was clear she inspired girls and women to go where no women had gone before. she had a second shuttle flight a year later. her third mission canceled after the challenger disaster.