LOS ANGELES, CA.- Nate D. Sanders Auctions announces the highly anticipated auction of the Sally Ride Estate Collection chronicling Sally Ride's groundbreaking journey from a Stanford-trained physicist to international icon. The auction concludes on June 26, 2025 and features over 50 lots of historically significant items from America's pioneering first woman astronaut.


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Dr. Sally Kristen Ride made history on June 18, 1983, when she launched aboard Space Shuttle Challenger as America's first woman in space during mission STS-7. At age 32, she became the youngest American astronaut to reach orbit, operating the shuttle's robotic arm with unprecedented skill and helping deploy two communications satellites. Her second mission, STS-41-G in October 1984, marked another milestone as the first spaceflight with two women crew members. Together, these missions established Ride as a global symbol of women's achievement in science and exploration.

Sally's Time at NASA reveals unprecedented career documentation

Lots 21-43 offer intimate glimpses into Ride's NASA career through official documents, training materials, and personal artifacts. Lot 23 features her original NASA acceptance letter from 1978, when she was selected as one of six women from 8,000 total applicants for NASA Astronaut Group 8 – the first class to include women astronauts.

Her official NASA astronaut badge (Lot 28) and training coveralls (Lots 30-31) provide tangible connections to her rigorous preparation for spaceflight. Most compelling is Lot 35, Ride's personal mission diary for STS-41-G, offering unprecedented insight into her thoughts and experiences during her second spaceflight when she worked alongside fellow groundbreaker Kathryn Sullivan, the first American woman to perform a spacewalk.

Highlights from the diaries include Ride's 20 pages of Earth observations, including her poetic description of aurora: "saw a brilliant green aurora...appears eerie to bright green...diffuse & 'wavy'...we could see the 'curtains' which defined the magnetic oval." She chronicles viewing lightning storms over Indonesia, oil fires in the Persian Gulf, and "exploding bombs & flares in IRAN/IRAQ war – blasts of light over the borders," providing a unique astronaut's perspective on world events below.

The diaries also capture lighter moments, including the crew's wake-up music selections (her request for "Valley Girl" was "nixed by training team"), pranks with ground control using answering machine messages, and the barely audible presidential phone call with Ronald Reagan from a train near Dayton, Ohio. These intimate details offer collectors an unparalleled window into America's space program through the eyes of its pioneering female astronaut.

Lot 37 presents Ride's personal copy of the Rogers Commission Report investigating the 1986 Challenger disaster. This document holds special significance as Ride served as the only active astronaut on the commission, playing a crucial behind-the-scenes role in uncovering the O-ring failure that caused the tragedy. She later became the only person to serve on both major shuttle accident investigations, also joining the Columbia Accident Investigation Board in 2003.

The possibly flight-worn name tag (Lot 41) represents a unique artifact that may have accompanied Ride on one of her missions, making it an extraordinary personal connection to her time in orbit.

Personal effects illuminate the woman behind the astronaut

Lots 44-53 reveal the personal side of this remarkable pioneer through everyday items that chronicle her pre-NASA life and continued adventures. Her early 1980s passport (Lot 45) and pilot's license (Lot 46) document her preparation for the astronaut program and demonstrate the breadth of her qualifications as both pilot and scientist.

Honoring Sally Ride's enduring legacy

Ride's Presidential Medal of Freedom certificate (Lot 54), the nation's highest civilian honor awarded posthumously by President Barack Obama in 2013. Obama's citation captured her lasting impact: "As the first American woman in space, Sally did not just break the stratospheric glass ceiling, she blasted through it. And when she came back to Earth, she devoted her life to helping girls excel in fields like math, science and engineering."

Following her NASA career, Ride became a physics professor at UC San Diego and founded Sally Ride Science in 2001, creating acclaimed STEM programs that inspired countless students. Her educational legacy includes six children's science books co-authored with life partner Dr. Tam O'Shaughnessy, and programs like Sally Ride EarthKAM that continue engaging students with space exploration.

"This collection represents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to acquire artifacts from one of the most inspirational figures in American space history," said auction owner Nate Sanders. "Sally Ride's legacy extends far beyond her groundbreaking spaceflights to encompass decades of education, advocacy, and inspiration for future generations of scientists and explorers."

Robbins medals

Lots 1-20 feature gold Robbins medals from Ride's personal collection. Lots 8 and 12 feature the flown Robbins medals from Ride's own missions STS-7 and STS-41-G, making them extraordinarily personal artifacts from her historic spaceflights. The STS-7 medal commemorates her barrier-breaking first mission, while the STS-41-G medal represents the first spaceflight with two women.

Online bidding opens June 12.