Physicist Sally Ride, 61, a pioneering woman in space, died of pancreatic cancer at age 61 on July 23. She is survived by her partner of 27 years, Tam O'Shaughnessy.
NASA chose Ride as an astronaut candidate in January 1978, and was a mission specialist on her historic ride on STS-7, which launched June 18, 1983—when she was 32 years old. (Two Soviet women beat her to space.)
She continued to work at NASA until 1987, when she left to work for Stanford University. She briefly married Steve Hawley in 1982, but divorced in 1987. Obituaries listed O'Shaughnessy as her surviving partner—they had been girlhood friends.
O'Shaughnessy is the COO and executive vice president of Sally Ride Science and a professor emerita of school psychology at San Diego State University, according to SallyRideScience.com .
Ride said of her historic flight: "The thing that I'll remember most about the flight is that it was fun. In fact, I'm sure it was the most fun I'll ever have in my life."
The Website stated: "She had the rare ability to understand the essence of things and to inspire those around her to join her pursuits.
"Sally's historic flight into space captured the nation's imagination and made her a household name. She became a symbol of the ability of women to break barriers and a hero to generations of adventurous young girls. After retiring from NASA, Sally used her high profile to champion a cause she believed in passionately—inspiring young people, especially girls, to stick with their interest in science, to become scientifically literate, and to consider pursuing careers in science and engineering."
Bear Ride, Sally's sister, is also gay. She spoke to BuzzFeed about Sally's legacy, her cancer and relationship: "The pancreatic cancer community is going to be absolutely thrilled that there's now this advocate that they didn't know about. And, I hope the GLBT community feels the same. I hope it makes it easier for kids growing up gay that they know that another one of their heroes was like them."
Ride wrote seven science books for children: To Space and Back (with Sue Oakie); and Voyager; The Third Planet; The Mystery of Mars; Exploring Our Solar System; Mission Planet Earth; and Mission Save the Planet (all with Tam O'Shaughnessy). She also "initiated and directed NASA-funded education projects designed to fuel middle school students' fascination with science, including EarthKAM and GRAIL MoonKAM," the Sally Ride Website said.
According to SallyRideScience.com, Ride is also survived by her mother, Joyce; her sister, Bear; her niece, Caitlin, and nephew, Whitney; her staff of 40 at Sally Ride Science; and friends and colleagues around the country.
