TITUSVILLE, Fla. - A wreath was laid at the U. S. Astronaut Hall of Fame honoring Sally K. Ride, who became America's first woman in space in 1983. Following her death on July 23, 2012, Ride is being remembered for her service to NASA and for her efforts to encourage children to study math, science and technology. A California-born physicist, she broke the gender barrier 29 years ago when she rode to orbit aboard space shuttle Challenger on STS-7. Ride subsequently served, again as a mission specialist, on STS-41G in 1984. Following her career with NASA, in 2001 Ride founded her own company, Sally Ride Science, to pursue her long-time passion of motivating youth -- especially girls and young women -- to pursue careers in technical fields. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann KSC-2012-3958

The Space Shuttle program was the United States government's manned launch vehicle program from 1981 to 2011, administered by NASA and officially beginning in 1972. The Space Shuttle system—composed of an orbiter launched with two reusable solid rocket boosters and a disposable external fuel tank— carried up to eight astronauts and up to 50,000 lb (23,000 kg) of payload into low Earth orbit (LEO). When its mission was complete, the orbiter would re-enter the Earth's atmosphere and lands as a glider. Although the concept had been explored since the late 1960s, the program formally commenced in 1972 and was the focus of NASA's manned operations after the final Apollo and Skylab flights in the mid-1970s. It started with the launch of the first shuttle Columbia on April 12, 1981, on STS-1. and finished with its last mission, STS-135 flown by Atlantis, in July 2011.