Beginning of Essay
Women such as Harriet Quimby, the first licensed women pilot, and Amelia Earheart, the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean, were unknowingly paving the way for other women, like Sally Ride, in the field of women in science and aeronautics. Sally Ride was ....

Middle of Essay
.... received her Masters in Physics and a Ph.D. in 1978. In 1977 she responded to an ad in the Stanford University newspaper for NASA astronauts. She was originally looking for postdoctoral work in astrophysics. Previously, astronauts had always been military pilots, but now NASA wanted to hire scientists and technicians who could monitor the complex technology of the shuttle. Prior to her application, no women had ever been accepted into NASA's space program. There were over 8,000 applicants for the thirty-five positions available. 1,251 of the 8,000 people who applied were women and only six were accepted. Sally Ride was one of the six, ....