Navy ship named after first American women astronaut

The US Navy is honouring the first American woman astronaut, Dr Sally K Ride, by naming a research vessel after her. The vessel will be operated by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego.

A US senator Barbara Boxer said on this occasion Dr Ride had inspired millions of people, especially young women and girls. She said naming a navy research vessel after her name was a tribute to her legacy.

Dr Ride died in 2012. She was living in La Jolla. She died after a 17-month battle with pancreatic cancer. She was 61-year-old.

She was a NASA astronaut for more than a decade. She later joined the UCSD faculty as a professor of physics.

NASA picked her for its astronaut corps in 1978. She became the first American women to fly to space when the boarded the Space Shuttle Challenger in 1983. She joined the UC San Diego faculty as a physics professor in 1989. She was also the director of the California Space institute.

The UC San Diego chancellor Pradeep Khosla said in a press release they were touched by the extraordinary honour. He wrote in the press release: “We are touched by the extraordinary honor that this ship is being named for Sally Ride, who, after serving our nation as a pioneering and accomplished astronaut, served on the faculty of UC San Diego for nearly two decades,. Her commitment to teaching and inspiring young minds is legendary and we take tremendous pride in this prestigious and well-deserved honor for her legacy and for UC San Diego.”

Gary Robbins of the San Diego Union-Tribune has said it was common for a research vessel to be named after a scientist or explorer. The current fleet of Scripps navy ships includes Roger Revelle and R/V Neil Armstrong. Revelle was a pioneering researcher in global warming.

R/V Sally Ride has been designed to operate in a variety of environments across the globe. The vessel will continue the Scripps institution’s legacy of pioneering research work. The ship will participate in oceanographic exploration. This is a shared-use, general-purpose ship. It will be used by physicists, chemists, biologists, geologists for a variety of search activities.

The ship is equipped with modern research paraphernalia. This instrumentation includes mapping systems, profilers, sensors that will assist scientists observe the ocean floors and the atmosphere.

A US representative Susan Davis said she could not think of a more perfect name for the navy research vessel. She said Dr Ride was a trailblazer in many things. She said her namesake ship will continue her legacy.

The ship is currently under construction in Washington. The Dakota Creek Industries Inc in building the ship. It is expected to come into the seas in 2015.