Sally Ride, who became the first American woman in space when she made the historic voyage aboard the space shuttle Challenger in 1983, died Monday, July 23 at her home in San Diego. She was 61.
The cause of death was pancreatic cancer, which Ms. Ride fought for 17 months.
Ms. Ride, who had a Ph.D. in physics, was also a lesbian, though that was not publicly known until her passing, when a statement from Sally Ride Science, of which she was CEO, noted that she is survived by Tam O'Shaughnessy, her partner of 27 years. Ms. O'Shaughnessy is COO of Sally Ride Science.
LGBT leaders quickly praised Ms. Ride upon hearing of her death.
"Dr. Sally Ride, pioneering first woman and first #lgbt gay person in space, has passed away," Congressman Jared Polis (D-Colorado) said in a message on Twitter Monday.
Allyson Robinson, deputy director for employment programs at the Human Rights Campaign, posted a message on the group's website.
"Only upon reading her obituary did I learn she had spent the last 27 years of her life with her female partner, Tam O'Shaughnessy," Robinson wrote. "Like many of her pioneering colleagues, the experience of being 'first' led Dr. Ride to value her privacy dearly, and I would certainly never fault her for it. I feel blessed to know that my hero and I shared a little more in common than I knew. I just wish I'd known sooner."
Ms. Ride was born May 26, 1951 in Encino, California. She was fascinated by science, and while a student at Stanford saw an ad in the student paper that NASA was looking for astronauts. "She immediately sent in her application – along with 8,000 other people," said the statement from Sally Ride Science. From that group 35 new astronauts, including six women, were chosen, including Ms. Ride.
After extensive training she was selected as a mission specialist for the Challenger shuttle, which blasted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 18, 1983. Ms. Ride went into space a second time, also aboard Challenger, on October 5, 1984.
In January 1986, tragedy struck the U.S. space program after the Challenger exploded shortly after takeoff, killing all seven crewmembers. Ms. Ride served on the presidential commission that investigated the accident. Afterwards, she was assigned to NASA headquarters as special assistant to the administrator for long-range and strategic planning, according to the statement from Sally Ride Science. She retired from NASA in 1987.
In 2001 she founded Sally Ride Science to pursue her longtime passion for motivating young girls and boys to stick with their interests in science and to consider pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering, and math. The company creates innovative classroom materials, programs, and professional development training for teachers.
Ms. Ride was married to astronaut Steven Hawley in 1982; the couple divorced in 1987.
From 1985 until her death, Ms. Ride was partners with O'Shaughnessy, who was a childhood friend. O'Shaughnessy became a science teacher and writer, and later COO of Sally Ride Science. The women co-wrote several books for children, including The Mystery of Mars , Explaining Our Solar System , and Mission Save the Planet .
In addition to O'Shaughnessy, Ms. Ride is survived by her mother, Joyce; her sister, Bear; her niece, Caitlin, and nephew, Whitney; her staff of 40 at Sally Ride Science; and many friends and colleagues across the country.