The shuttle was attached to a huge tank which contained enough fuel to carry it into space SPACE SPEAK Rocket boosters The two rockets provide most of the launch power zooming the shuttle up to 30 miles 45 kilometers in two minutes and boosting it to a speed of almost 3,000 miles 5,000 kilometers per hour Then they separate from the fuel tank and fall back into the sea The rockets can be cleaned out and re-used The countdown began ten nine eight At seven the shuttle’s engine started At one the rocket boosters roared into life and the craft began to lift away from the ground Suddenly the astronauts were hurtling through the clouds The rockets burned out and fell away but the shuttle carried on out of Earth’s atmosphere THE FIRST AMERICAN WOMAN IN SPACE On June 18 1983 Sally Ride became the first American woman to go into space She was also the youngest-ever astronaut Her flight was on board the shuttle Challenger launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida She went on to make a second shuttle flight before becoming a college professor and author She is one of the most famous people in the history of space travel
The mission patch on Sally Ride’s shirt commemorated her historic flight in Challenger
