Sally Ride passes away

[Swift]

From CNN.com

Sally Ride, the first American woman to fly in space, died Monday after a 17-month battle with pancreatic cancer, her company said. She was 61.

"Sally lived her life to the fullest, with boundless energy, curiosity, intelligence, passion, commitment, and love. Her integrity was absolute; her spirit was immeasurable; her approach to life was fearless," read a statement on the website of Sally Ride Science, a company she started to help teach students -- particularly young women and girls -- about science, math and technology.

Ride flew into orbit aboard the space shuttle Challenger in 1983 to become America's first woman in space. She took a second trip aboard the same shuttle one year later.

"As the first American woman to travel into space, Sally was a national hero and a powerful role model," President Barack Obama said soon after news of her death broke. "She inspired generations of young girls to reach for the stars and later fought tirelessly to help them get there by advocating for a greater focus on science and math in our schools. Sally's life showed us that there are no limits to what we can achieve and I have no doubt that her legacy will endure for years to come."

Ride is survived by her partner of 27 years, Tam O'Shaughnessy, her mother, her sister, and other family members.

Fly high Ms. Ride

[Tuckerfan]

Too bad she never got to go to the Moon or Mars.

[Glom]

I got this shock during what was supposed to be an innocent trawl of the NASA tweets.

Didn't expect to be losing TFNG's so soon.

[Swift]

Didn't expect to be losing TFNG's so soon.

TFNG? Googling... googling... got it.

Thirty-Five New Guys (astronaut group nickname; US NASA)

Yeah, 61 is only about 8 more than me... way too soon.

[Trebuchet]

Dang. I hate it when someone both younger and more accomplished than I passes that way.

[Noclevername]

Sad news, I remember her flights.

[ravens_cry]

Fly high, Ride, fly higher, to where "The grey rain-curtain of this world rolls back, and all turns to silver glass. And then you see it . . . white shores, and beyond, a far green country under a swift sunrise."
Rest in peace, Sally Ride.

[schlaugh]

And she was only four years older than myself. The Times has a lengthy obituary/biography on Dr. Ride. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/24/sc...1.html?_r=1&hp

I didn't know she was considering a career in tennis while in college.

She played tennis for Stanford, became the team’s No. 1 women’s singles player and was nationally ranked. She taught at summer tennis camps, and at one of them she met Billie Jean King, who urged her to quit college and become a professional tennis player. She did not take that advice. Years later, when a child asked her what made her decide to be a scientist instead of a tennis player, she laughed and said, “A bad forehand.”

[filrabat]

Sally, your passing is a sad day for us all. You certainly left your mark on astronautical history and broke many barriers for women. Not to mention you inspired a whole generation of young women to go into all kinds of sciences. RIP, and I hope to meet you when I go over to the other side.

[danscope]

She will always be remembered. A great, hard working and classy lady and an example to everyone who works to a standard of excellence.

Dan

[Doodler]

Pancreatic cancer. Cripes, that's an evil one. Sad to see her fall so horribly.

[geonuc]

In reading her obituary, I learn that along with her other accomplishments, she was a nationally ranked tennis player in college. RIP.

[LookingSkyward]

Very, very sad.

[ToSeek]

I met her in 1985 at an event celebrating the tenth anniversary of Apollo-Soyuz. Among guests that included the NASA administrator, Carl Sagan, Deke Slayton, Alexei Leonov, and a bunch of other astronauts and space notables, she was the one who impressed me the most, both in her onstage talk and how she dealt one-on-one with those in attendance.

[R.A.F.]

...61 is only about 8 more than me... way too soon.

3 years and 3 months for me...

She will always be remembered as the first American Woman to have flown in space...always.

[R.A.F.]

...she was the one who impressed me the most, both in her onstage talk and how she dealt one-on-one with those in attendance.

How did she deal "one on one" with the attendies? If there is a story to be told, please share it with us.

[Buttercup]

She will always be remembered as the first American Woman to have flown in space...always.

Yes.

And the Soviets put a woman into space 20 years prior. That is a disgrace upon the USA!

[KaiYeves]

I grew up never doubting that I or any of my other female friends could become astronauts as adults if we wanted to-- after all, look how many women had already! Here's to NASA's first, the one who paved the way-- my only regret is never getting to meet her and tell her how much I admired her.

[R.A.F.]

And the Soviets put a woman into space 20 years prior.

A major difference you fail to point out is that Tereshkova was essentially a passenger.

That is a disgrace upon the USA!

I do not share that opinion.

[Buttercup]

A major difference you fail to point out is that Tereshkova was essentially a passenger.

Okay.

But the fact remains that a Soviet female went up into space (whether merely as passenger or otherwise) a full 20 years prior to USA.

I'm an American, I'll criticize my nation's space program if I want.

[R.A.F.]

I'm an American, I'll criticize my nation's space program if I want.

Certainly...I was just pointing out that there is no need to feel "shame" over what was a "stunt".


None of Ms. Rides flights could be classified as a "stunt"....that is the difference I was pointing out.

[Doodler]

To be fair, RAF, back then, a lot of the first missions were basically "stunts". The Soviets of the time may have been working with less technically advanced equipment, but credit due where it belongs, the stuff actually worked. A lot of learning what did and did not work well in practice came by basically strapping oneself in and giving it a go, so about everything up and into project Gemini can basically fit the bill.

NASA at the time was still dancing to the DoD's tune, and the DoD is among the most utterly hidebound organizations in the US government. This is an organization that regularly has to be dragged kicking and screaming through every threshold of social progress, twisting itself in knots to justify it's knuckledragging. If you think Ms. Ride's accomplishment was long overdue, look how long it took the US to put Guion Bluford and Mae Jemison into orbit.

[Tuckerfan]

A major difference you fail to point out is that Tereshkova was essentially a passenger.

Svetlana Savitskaya flew before Ms. Ride and she certainly wasn't a just a passenger like Tereshkova was. (Poor Tereshkova was essentially just some woman grabbed off the street and stuffed into a spaceship with no training at all. She didn't handle her flight well at all. Had the Soviets bothered to train her, she still could have easily flown before Ms. Ride's first trip. Gotta wonder what the US folks listening in on Ms. Tereshkova's missions thought of it all.)

[ToSeek]

How did she deal "one on one" with the attendies? If there is a story to be told, please share it with us.

Well, generally very gracious and patient. At one point, I swear to God, some guy grabbed her by the elbow and literally spun her around 180 degrees (she's not a big woman) to ask for her autograph. She just complied where I would have smacked him.

[R.A.F.]

Well, generally very gracious and patient.

I suspected as much. Thanks, ToSeek.

[Buttercup]

Certainly...I was just pointing out that there is no need to feel "shame" over what was a "stunt".

None of Ms. Rides flights could be classified as a "stunt"....that is the difference I was pointing out.

R.A.F., I apologize for sounding snippy yesterday.

ToSeek:

At one point, I swear to God, some guy grabbed her by the elbow and literally spun her around 180 degrees (she's not a big woman) to ask for her autograph. She just complied...

Wow. :-( Maybe she was caught off guard; I'm "had" if caught off guard.

[R.A.F.]

R.A.F., I apologize for sounding snippy yesterday.

No worries....and no need for apologies.

[Disinfo Agent]

I am saddened by this loss. Reading about it elsewhere I can see that Sally Ride was an inspiration for many people, and by most accounts an all around great person.

With regard to the issue of "first American woman in space" versus "first woman in space", I tend to side with the spirit of the following excerpt from this bio of Svetlana Yevgenyevna:

Like other Russian female cosmonauts, she seems to have flown mainly due to her family connections and for propaganda purposes. This in no way diminished her obvious talents and suitability as a pilot cosmonaut.

Yes, it's true that Sally Ride was not the first woman to go up into space, but she still represented a definite step forward from the two (also worthy) Russian women who had preceded her. Looking at the Wikipedia article on Valentina Tereshkova, I do not get the impression that she was just "essentially just some woman grabbed off the street and stuffed into a spaceship with no training at all", as was claimed above. She was an experienced skydiver when she applied to be a cosmonaut, and she did receive serious training. On the other hand, she did not pursue a career in space. She was still the first, nonetheless.

Svetlana Yevgenyevna was a more solid second. She was a skydiver from an early age, she became a pilot, and later she took up the career of cosmonaut. In her second space mission she also became the first woman to do a spacewalk. Truly a remarkable woman. On the other hand, she may have benefited from being the daughter of a Soviet WWII aviation hero. And it's noteworthy that, while Svetlana Yevgenyevna did precede Sally Ride into space, both of them flew nearly 20 years after Tereshkova... and it looks like Yevgenyevna's flight may have been decided partly in reaction to American plans to send their first woman into space. Of course, Sally would always be special to Americans, regardless of all that.

Reading about Sally Ride, I find another remarkable woman, but this time from a more middle class background; more of a self-made woman. She also took part in more space missions, she worked in other functions related to space, and, more importantly, she was soon followed by a whole generation of American female astronauts who took on roles equal in every way to the men — no longer an exception, but the start of a new rule (perhaps it's just my ignorance, but men still seem more prominent than women in the Russian space programme to this day). Lastly, Sally was deeply envolved in promoting public interest in space and science throughout her life. So I see an interesting progression, with each of these women symbolising more room gained for women.