Emerging Technologies Blog

The U.S. Navy on Saturday (Aug. 9) christened its first research vessel named for a female scientist, the R/V Sally Ride, during a ceremony held at the Dakota Creek Industries, Inc. shipyard in Anacortes, Washington. Named for the first American woman to fly in space, the R/V Sally Ride will be operated for the Navy by Scripps Institution of Oceanography to conduct research in physics, chemistry, biology, geology and climate science.

Sally Ride in NASA suit 1983

Tam O'Shaughnessy, Ride's life partner and successor as chief executive officer at the science education company Sally Ride Science, broke the traditional champagne bottle across the bow of the R/V Sally Ride during the naming ceremony held at the Dakota Creek Industries shipyard in Anacortes, Washington on Saturday (Aug. 9).

"The christening of this ship is not only a celebration of the hard work and dedication of the men and women who have brought this vessel from an idea to a reality, but also of the spirit of exploration and discovery shared by Sally Ride and the United States Navy," said Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus. "For decades to come, the men and women who will man this ship will look past the horizon, beyond man-made boundaries, searching, learning, and honoring the pioneer AGOR 28 is named after - the great Sally Ride."


Mabus named the R/V Sally Ride to honor the memory of Sally Ride, a scientist, innovator and educator. Ride was the first American woman and the youngest person in space. She later served as director of NASA's Office of Exploration as well as the California Space Institute at University of California San Diego. "Sally Ride's career will inspire generations to come," said Mabus. "I named R/V Sally Ride to honor a great researcher, but also to encourage generations of students to continue exploring, discovering, and reaching for the stars."

Ride, who died in 2012, became famous for launching with the STS-7 crew on space shuttle Challenger in 1983. The first U.S. female astronaut to fly into space, she was only the third woman worldwide to orbit the Earth, following two Soviet-era cosmonauts, Valentina Tereshkova in 1963 and Svetlana Savitskaya in 1982.

After her second launch on the shuttle, Ride left NASA to become a physics professor and a champion for improving science education. She founded her own company, Sally Ride Science, to pursue her passion for motivating girls and young women to pursue careers in science, math and technology.

The RV/Sally Ride is among seven new ships named Friday by Mabus. Other ships include three joint high speed vessels (JHSV): the USNS Trenton; the USNS Brunswick; and the USNS Carson City; an amphibious transport dock ship (LPD), the USS Portland; two littoral combat ships (LCS); the USS Wichita; and the USS Mancheste