Episode 43: Florida State Quarter – Three Woman Change Space Exploration

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Episode 43: Florida State Quarter – Three Woman Change Space Exploration

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Episode 43: Florida State Quarter Three Woman Change Space Exploration Photo courtesy U.S. Mint – Florida State Quarters Coin Florida State Quarter US Mint release in 2004 features stories and history. Let’s start with- “Space… the last frontier.” A place that has always called to us—quietly, persistently—asking us to look up and wonder what lies beyond. It is the great unknown… vast, silent, and infinite. And yet, it feels deeply personal. Because space isn’t just about distance or discovery— it’s about possibility. It’s about curiosity. It’s about the human desire to go further than we’ve ever gone before… and to understand our place in something far greater than ourselves.” Three women have reach beyond the bound of earth and traveled among the stars and today we say their names and we share their stories. Today… a quarter helps us tell that story – a quarter takes us to Florida. To the Space Coast. To Kennedy Space Center. To a place where history doesn’t sit still—it launches. But this isn’t just a story about rockets. It’s about people. It’s about possibility. And it’s about three women who helped redefine who gets to go to space. We’ll start with the coin. The Florida State Quarter, released in 2004, tells its own story. On the reverse side, you’ll find: A space shuttle launching into the skyA Spanish galleon, representing early explorationAnd the words: “Gateway to Discovery” And that phrase, Gateway to Discovery, isn’t just poetic. It’s literal. Because right here… in Cape Canaveral… Florida became the launch point for America’s journey into space. That shuttle on the coin? It represents decades of innovation, ambition, and risk. But what the coin doesn’t show— is who was onboard. To understand the full story, you have to stand on the ground where it happened. Kennedy Space Center is where America’s boldest dreams took flight. It began in 1958, when NASA was created. On the 29th of July 1958 President Dwight Eisenhower signed the bill that established the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. On the 1st of October 1958 NASA began operations to perform civilian research related to space flight and aeronautics. On the 25th May 1961 President John F. Kennedy announced his ambitious goal of sending an American to the moon before the end of the decade. Just three years later, after NASA was created President Kenney made a promise that would define a generation: To land a man on the moon, and bring him home safely, before the decade was out. To make that promise real, NASA needed a launch site that could support something never done before. So they built it. More than 80,000 acres. Massive launch pads. The towering Vehicle Assembly Building—still one of the largest structures in the world. From here: Apollo 8 became the first mission to leave Earth’s orbitApollo 11 launched toward the moonAnd the space shuttle era redefined space travel This place is more than history—it’s momentum. But for a long time…the people who made that history all looked the same. Well…. That is …Until they didn’t. Enter Sally Ride. Born in California in 1951, she wasn’t just brilliant, she was driven. A physicist. A scholar. A top-ranked tennis player. And in 1977, she saw something that changed her life—a small newspaper ad from NASA. They were recruiting astronauts. She applied that day. Out of more than 8,000 applicants, she was selected. June 18, 1983. Kennedy Space Center. The shuttle Challenger lifts off. And with it, Sally Ride becomes the first American woman in space. At just 32 years old. She wasn’t a passenger. She was a mission specialist. She: Operated the shuttle’s robotic armDeployed satellitesConducted scientific experiments But the media? They asked about makeup. About emotions. About motherhood. And Sally handled it with quiet strength. She once said: “Everybody wanted to know about what kind of makeup I was taking up,” Ride said. “They didn’t care about how well-prepared I was to operate the arm or deploy communications satellites.” Sally Ride didn’t just go to space, she made it possible for others to follow. She flew again. She investigated the Challenger disaster. She became a professor. She created programs encouraging girls to pursue STEM careers. In 1984, Ride went to space again for NASA mission STS-41G. This time, another female astronaut, Kathryn Sullivan, was on board the shuttle with her. This was the first time two women were in space together, and Sullivan became the first American woman to perform a spacewalk. We say Kathryn’s name too. Sally was there making history again. You may have heard this before – sounding bold and proud – Americans saying – Ride, Sally, ride and that she did. ……She changed the narrative. Fast forward nearly four decades. In 2022, another barrier falls. Nicole Mann, a member of the Wailacki of the Round Valley Indian Tribes...

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