A biopic about trailblazing lesbian astronaut Sally Ride comes out today: Here’s how to watch it

Sally, a documentary about the groundbreaking lesbian astronaut and physicist Sally Ride, is out today (16 June), and makes for fascinating viewing.

The National Geographic film documents Sally Ride’s history as the first American woman and the third woman to fly in space, after cosmonauts Valentina Tereshkova in 1963 and Svetlana Savitskaya in 1982.

Sally premiered in January at the Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize – awarded to an outstanding feature film that focuses on science or technology. 

The film’s description reads: “Sally Ride became the first American woman to blast off into space, but beneath her unflappable composure, she carried a secret. 

“Revealing the romance and sacrifices of their 27 years together, Sally’s life partner, former Women’s Tennis Association player Tam O’Shaughnessy, tells the full story of this complicated and iconic astronaut for the first time.”

Sally Ride also became the youngest American astronaut to have flown in space, aged just 32.

With NASA’s efforts to diversify its pilots and crew for the space shuttle program, Ride became a member of the groundbreaking STS-7 mission in 1983.

Ride was included in NASA Astronaut Group 8, also known as TFNG (thirty-five new guys), a group of 35 astronauts announced in 1978. It was the first group to include female and minority astronauts.

Following the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster in 1986, when seven crew members were killed when the shuttle exploded after 73 seconds, Ride was the only astronaut appointed to the Rogers Commission that investigated the disaster. 

The posthumous queer revelation meant that Ride was not only the first American woman in space but is now also believed to be the first LGBTQ+ person in space.

“Sally risked everything to make history”

The film is directed by Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Cristina Costantini. Sally charts Ride’s rise at NASA to make history in space alongside her previously secret lesbian love story. 

“Sally risked everything to make history, but telling the world about us was a risk she just couldn’t take,” Tam O’Shaughnessy says in the documentary trailer. 

Speaking to People, Tam O’Shaughnessy shared that days before Ride passed away in 2012, of complications from pancreatic cancer at age 61, she gave O’Shaughnessy her blessing to reveal their relationship to the public.

“Our friends and family knew, and people guessed. It didn’t feel honest,” she continues. “She told me, you decide what you want to say, how open you want to be about our relationship.”

Costantini’s film, built from Tam O’Shaughnessy’s memories, reflects on the two women’s lives together. 

Because their relationship was so secretive, few photographs of the couple exist. So, the documentary had to recreate moments with look-alike actors.

Producer Lauren Cioffi told People: “Tam was the closest and most intimate voice that we could get to Sally.”

O’Shaughnessy added of Ride: “We had a wonderful relationship from the time we were kids until we became lovers. I think it’s something to be proud of.”

“We had no idea it would be this relevant”

The film uses archival footage paired with O’Shaughnessy’s recollection and her NASA colleagues. Sally is a homage to not just Ride’s work, but also her life. 

Speaking to the Guardian a week before Sally premiered at Sundance, Costantini noted that disgraced President Donald Trump recently cancelled all federal diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs. She added that “all NASA employees are being asked to take down any representations of pride.”

“We made this movie not thinking it was particularly controversial,” Costantini continued. “We had no idea it would be this relevant.”

Ride’s story is also set to be told in the upcoming TV show The Challenger. Kristen Stewart, the Twilight and Love Lies Bleeding actor, will portray Ride, marking her first-ever lead TV role. 

The Challenger is based on Meredith E. Bagby’s book The New Guys: The Historic Class of Astronauts That Broke Barriers and Changed the Face of Space Travel.

Sally Ride has been honoured on a United States Postal Service stamp. Also, she became the first out LGBTQ+ person to appear on US currency. 

She has gone on to become a well-known name in popular culture: Queer musician Janelle Monáe released a song called “Sally Ride”, and she featured in the second season of the Apple TV+ show For All Mankind.

Sally premieres on National Geographic on 16 June and is available on Hulu and Disney+ on 17 June.