2-839-760 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Ninety-Nines Silver Cup Award presented to Sally Ride, 1980s. This silver cup was presented to Dr. Sally K. Ride by the Kentucky Blue Grass Chapter of the Ninety-Nines. The Ninety-Nines is an international organization founded in 1929 for the mutual support and advancement of female pilots. At the time of the club's founding, there were only 117 licensed female pilots, 99 of whom accepted the invitation to become charter members, hence the club's name. Ride also owned a Ninety-Nines pin. Sally Ride became the first American woman in space when she flew aboard STS-7 in 1983.