Ariel 1, also known as UK-1 and S-55, was the first Britishsatellite. Its launch in 1962 made the United Kingdom the third country to operate a satellite, after the Soviet Union and the USA. It was constructed in the United States by NASA, under an agreement reached as the result of political discussions in 1959 and 1960.
NASA constructed and launched the satellite, whilst SERC provided the experiments, conducted operations, and later analysed and interpreted the results. Ariel 1 was launched aboard an American Thor-Delta rocket from Launch Complex 17A at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, on 26 April 1962. It decayed from orbit on 24 April 1976.
She served on the committees that investigated the Challenger and Columbia Space Shuttle disasters, the only person to participate on both.
Ride died following a 17-month-long battle with pancreatic cancer on July 23, 2012. Shortly before her death, she came out as a homosexual in a statement through her philanthropic enterprise, Sally Ride Science.