Sally rides into history

(St. Petersburg, FL) - If she hadn't been an astronaut or teacher, Sally Ride may have been a tennis pro. At one point, the California native was even nationally ranked as a tennis player.

But education proved too important for Ride and in 1983, she became America's first woman in space.

Wednesday will mark the 25th anniversary of Ride's historic flight. In a recent interview with NASA, she called it "an honor" to be selected as the country's first woman in space. In fact, she admitted to being overwhelmed with excitement when she was informed about the decision by the head of the Johnson Space Center.

"I was so dazzled just by the opportunity to be on the crew and go into space, that I really don't remember very much of what he said," Ride recalled.

Since Ride's first trip into space, there have been 50 female U.S. astronauts.