Sally Ride wanted to be remembered as being fearless.
In reality, though, the first American woman to fly into space was scared — and it had nothing to do with her leaving the planet.
“I would like to be remembered as someone who was not afraid to do what she wanted to do and as someone who took risks along the way in order to achieve her goals,” said Ride in an interview clip included in the new National Geographic documentary “SALLY.”
Director Cristina Costantini balances Ride’s stated desire with a longer look at the untold part of the late astronaut’s life — as told in the film by Tam O’Shaughnessy, Ride’s secret love and life partner for 27 years.
“I have thought long and hard about why Sally could not be open about our relationship, and the only thing that makes sense to me is that she was afraid,” says O’Shaughnessy in the film. “Sally was afraid of what people would think, especially her colleagues and her friends, and how that would change what they thought about her.”
“That’s heartbreaking for me, but also for her,” says O’Shaughnessy.
The winner of the 2025 Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize — a juried award granted for the most outstanding depiction of science and technology in a feature-length film shown at Sundance — “SALLY” premiered at the film festival on Tuesday (Jan. 28).
Related: Sally Ride: First American woman in space
“The day I met Tam, I knew that she was a brilliant woman. But on that fateful interview day almost a year ago now, I began to appreciate what an incredible, insightful storyteller she is with a vivid memory that could rival anyone,” wrote Costantini for Filmmaker Magazine. “Most people would say, ‘The shuttle launched that morning.’ Tam would start the same story by saying ‘I remember as the sun began to rise, the birds were flitting around the foreground of the wetlands as the sun glinted off of the orange external fuel tank in the distance.’ This was the greatest gift as a filmmaker, to have a central narrator who is also an incredible writer and storyteller.”
“SALLY” combines NASA archival footage, media interviews and appearances and new interviews conducted with O’Shaughnessy, Ride’s other family members, fellow astronauts and friends. The challenge for Costantini was to find a way to visually show Ride’s private life.
“Sally and Tam didn’t document much of their own love story, so very little archival exists of their time together. Our main character also didn’t like sharing the depths of her emotions or divulging her feelings to the world around her, which made her an amazing astronaut but hard to capture as a filmmaker,” Costantini said in a statement provided by National Geographic.
“We decided to shoot visual sequences on 16-mm film to capture the feeling of falling in love, of having a secret, and of growing old with a loved one,” said the director.
Costantini attended Tuesday’s premiere at The Ray Theatre in Park City, Utah decked out in a silvery jacket (with NASA logo pin) and matching pants — something of a cross between the aluminum-coated nylon pressure suits that the original Mercury astronauts made famous and the two-piece flight suit that Ride wore to space.
Also at Sundance for the premiere were executive producer Liz Garbus and producers Dan Cogan, Jon Bardin and Lauren Cioffi. Bear Ride, Sally’s sister, and former NASA astronaut Cady Coleman were in the audience, as was O’Shaughnessy, whose birthday was celebrated by the filmmakers at a party on Monday night (Jan. 27).
Tickets for online screenings of “SALLY” remain available through the Sundance Film Festival website. Streaming begins on Thursday (Jan. 30) and continues on-demand through to Sunday (Feb. 2).
National Geographic plans a wider release of “SALLY” later this year, with details to be announced.
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