Sally Ride, America's first woman in space, now stands tall on the grounds of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum in California, where a statue of her was unveiled Tuesday (July 4) as a part of an Independence Day celebration.
Members of the Ride family, including her 99-year-old mother, Joyce, helped to reveal the larger-than-life tribute, which is backdropped by the rolling hills of Simi Valley, at the entrance to the library's outdoor Peace Plaza.
"It's with great joy and a profound sense of gratitude that the Ride family joins you in celebrating the unveiling of Sally today. As her younger sister, I've always had a sense that she was seven feet tall, and now I have proof," said Karen "Bear" Ride to the small crowd that had gathered around the statue. "But here we are, looking down over our old home in the San Fernando Valley, remembering her, celebrating the fact that Sally was a trailblazer and to many a hero."
The bronze sculpture captures Ride in mid step, as she reaches out with her right arm to lift a scale model of the space shuttle Challenger into the air. She is depicted as she was 40 years ago, dressed in the NASA coveralls and flight jacket that she wore for her first launch.
Related: Biography of Sally Ride, the 1st American woman in space
