Sally Ride to be featured on a Forever stamp Wednesday

SAN DIEGO — Sally Ride, America’s first woman in space, a pioneering astronaut, brilliant physicist and dedicated educator who inspired the nation, will be commemorated on a Forever stamp tomorrow. Share the news using the hashtags #SallyRideForever and #AstronautStamps.

The Sally Ride Forever stamp 5 p.m. PDT dedication ceremony, will take place at the Price Center, University of California San Diego. Ride served as a professor of physics at the university, which also is home to Sally Ride Science @ U C San Diego, a non-profit organization she co-founded to inspire young people in science, engineering, technology and math (STEM) and to promote STEM literacy.

Followers of the U.S. Postal Service’s Facebook page can view the ceremony live at Facebook.com/USPS. The stamps may be pre-ordered now at this link for delivery shortly after tomorrow’s issuance.

The stamp art features a colorful portrait of Ride in her light blue space suit with a dramatic depiction of a space shuttle lifting off in the background. Sketched first in charcoal and then rendered in oil paint, artist Paul Salmon of Burke, VA, reflects her positivity and confident spirit, as well as the excitement and danger of space travel. Art director Ethel Kessler of Bethesda, MD, designed the stamp.