Physicist and astronaut Sally Ride was born #OTD in 1951. She was the first American woman and the youngest American in space. After NASA she worked on arms control and physics, investigated the Columbia and Challenger disasters, and promoted STEM through Sally Ride Science.
Image: NASA
Sally Ride’s 1977 inquiry letter to NASA easily fits in a single post:
"To whom it may concern,
I am a PhD candidate in astrophysics at Stanford University, and am interested in the space shuttle program. Please send me the forms necessary to apply as a 'mission specialist' candidate.
Thank you,
Sally Ride”
Sally Ride was married to a man for five years, but then spent 27 years in a relationship with Tam O’Shaughnessy, a woman.
There is a touching essay by her sister Bear (who is gay, and a minister) about her sister’s “fundamental sense of privacy,” and how people might be surprised to learn about Sally Ride’s relationship with Tam.
In life, Sally Ride became famous as America's first woman in space — and in death, she's now added to her fame as the first acknowledged gay astronaut.The revelation came in a low-key way: Monday's obituary from Sally Ride Science, the educational venture she founded a decade ago, referred to Tam O'Shaughnessy as "her partner of 27 years." A spokeswoman for Sally Ride Science, Terry McEntee, s
Robert McNees
denial