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New Research Ship Named for Astronaut Sally Ride

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The new U.S. ocean research vessel, the R/V Sally Ride.
The new U.S. ocean research vessel, the R/V Sally Ride. (Image credit: Scripps Intstitution of Oceanography)

U.S. Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus has named the newest U.S. ocean research vessel the R/V Sally Ride, in honor of the first female American astronaut and youngest American to fly in space, who died in July 2012 at the age of 61.

"Sally Ride's career was one of firsts and will inspire generations to come," said Mabus. "I named R/V Sally Ride to honor a great researcher, but also to encourage generations of students to continue exploring, discovering, and reaching for the stars."

The ship, which will have its home port at the Scripps Nimitz Marine Facility in Point Loma on San Diego Bay, will be a "seagoing laboratory" that will study the geology, chemistry and biology of the ocean, as well as the atmosphere and climate change, according to Scripps Institution of Oceanography news release.

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Andrea Thompson
Andrea Thompson
Live Science Contributor

Andrea Thompson is an associate editor at Scientific American, where she covers sustainability, energy and the environment. Prior to that, she was a senior writer covering climate science at Climate Central and a reporter and editor at Live Science, where she primarily covered Earth science and the environment. She holds a graduate degree in science health and environmental reporting from New York University, as well as a bachelor of science and and masters of science in atmospheric chemistry from the Georgia Institute of Technology.