Sally Ride Signed Space Shuttle Atlantis Launch Photograph — First American Woman in Space

A color glossy photograph of Space Shuttle Atlantis climbing off the pad — main engines and twin solid rocket boosters at full burn, the orbiter's three bell nozzles glowing, exhaust plumes trailing into the frame. The print is boldly signed in black felt-tip across the lower-left smoke column by Sally Ride, who in June 1983 became the first American woman to fly in space aboard STS-7. The photograph is housed in a clear protective sleeve and accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity.

Ride's flight aboard Challenger made her a national figure at 32, the youngest American astronaut to reach orbit at the time and a permanent fixture of NASA history. She flew a second mission in 1984 and later served on the investigation boards for both the Challenger and Columbia disasters — the only person to sit on both. Signed material from Ride, who largely stepped back from the autograph circuit and died in 2012, carries lasting demand among space-program collectors. The photograph depicted shows Atlantis specifically, identified by the "NASA Atlantis" marking on the orbiter's fuselage — consistent with one of Atlantis's mid-to-late 1980s launches; the precise mission is not documented with the lot. /p>

Accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity from Joseph Gong (P.O. Box 1055, Millbrae, CA), which unconditionally guarantees the autograph as authentic. The COA accompanies the lot. Buyers seeking major third-party grading (PSA/JSA) may submit independently; the Gong COA is the documentation present with this lot.

CONDITION

Very Good. The photograph presents with stron.

DIMENSIONS / SPECIFICATIONS

• Photograph: 8" × 10"
• Format: Fujicolor Crystal Archive color print
• Signed: black felt-tip, lower left
• Includes: Certificate of Authenticity (Joseph Gong, Millbrae, CA)
• Housed in clear protective sleeve