Sally Ride, the first American woman to fly in space, died on Monday at her home in San Diego. She was 61. She was an amazing person and she had to deal with so much nonsense when she was getting ready to fly. I remember one reporter asked her if she was going to have to wear a bra. She handled that with grace and professionalism and was an incredible person.
RIP. She was such an inspiration to girls.
ReplyDeleteIf I lived in zero gravity I'd run around naked shouting "LOOK AT ME"
ReplyDeleteAre you going to have to wear a bra? Haha. I need to remember that one.
ReplyDeleteI watched this with Mom in 1983. My Mom was so proud to witness a woman going into space in her lifetime.RIP.
ReplyDeleteSally Ride was my hero! She was a smart, sassy woman of science and ushered in a whole new era for girls. I watched all her missions and was so proud. She was a trailblazer!
ReplyDeleteAnother brilliant mind gone too soon. RIP Sally. Now you can fly anywhere in the galaxy.
Man, 61 is so young now. This sucks. RIP, Sally.
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ReplyDeleteI believe she was also the youngest.
ReplyDeleteShe inspired girls and women everywhere. I didn't want to go to space but I was proud of her accomplishments.
ReplyDeleteI so admired Sally, and she had the best name ever for a female going into space.
ReplyDeleteRIP Ms. Ride.
Between Sally Ride and Sandra Day O'Connor, the early eighties were an awesome time to be a girl. Both of these women were trailblazers.
ReplyDeleteRIP, Sally. Pancreatic cancer is a horrible end to a fantastic life.
Don't forget Jeanne Kirkpatrick, who was the smartest woman in politics in the 80s!
DeleteI so admire Sally for her work to get young girls interested in science and math. I still have a pipe dream to be an astronomer, and Ms. Ride was a huge part of that. May you fly among the stars, Sally - your legacy will shine for years to come.
ReplyDeleteI have too have to agree that she was my hero and inspired me towards aviation and "there's nothing I can't do" attitude. If only the girls today had such a role model.
ReplyDeleteLet's not forget she was also the first lesbian in space!
ReplyDeleteTruly great woman. RIP :(
I thought i saw on twitter that they were denying her partner her benefits. my phone froze so i couldnt access the link. Anyone else hear that?
ReplyDeleteRIP Sally Ride. The best thing, though, is that it's no big deal for a woman to do these things now.
ReplyDeleteA female astronaut in 2012? Yawn. That's what's awesome. :)
I think you have to be legally married to get spousal benefits, and, well... there is no recognition of any same-sex marriage on the federal level.
ReplyDeleteI hope I'm wrong, and that her partner is given the benefits she should get.
(I actually cried a little when I heard about her death yesterday. Getting a little teary, even now.)
ReplyDelete@carebear - I think this is true. She would be denied Ms Ride's federal benefits bc of the Defense of Marriage Act.
ReplyDeleteFemale Astronaut = OK. Lesbian Astronaut = not OK.
She was one of my heros too. I didn't realize she was my age :( .
ReplyDeleteLOL @ "Lesbians-In-Space!"
ReplyDeleteAnd if it meant I never had to wear a bra, I'd LIVE in outer space! Men have it so easy...no bras, no makeup, no monthly visitors, no elaborate hair styles, all just "wash-n- go" ... I'm jelly of u guys...*sigh*
But then again, I look @Whoopi G. She doesn't wear a bra or any of that other stuff & that don't look so great either...
pancreatic cancer.
ReplyDeleteagain.
is there an epidemic?
Was wondering that myself? I didn't think pancreatic cancer was that common.
DeleteRide Sally Ride.
ReplyDelete"Ride, Sally, ride!" ("Mustang Sally," Mack Rice, Wilson Pickett, etc.) Fitting.
ReplyDeleteRIP Sally. 61 is too young.
ReplyDeleteBeing an astronaut was the #1 choice in the "what I'm going to be when I grow up" section of my 8th grade year book. Now all kids want to be are yacht girl popstars or their pimp daddy's.
*sigh* how times have changed.
@Kaizer - So true. Sad state of affairs really. Math and science too hard. Big boobs and hair, easy. Reality shows not really helping out the ladies.
ReplyDeleteI was just a kid but she was such an inspiration to me. RIP, Sally.
ReplyDelete@dia papaya: "Math and science too hard. Big boobs and hair, easy". literally lol.
ReplyDeleteI used to see Sally Ride around downtown Palo Alto in the late 80's when I worked there. I was always starstruck by her. She died way too young. RIP
ReplyDeleteVery sad; I didn't even know she was sick. She was a nationally ranked tennis player when she was growing up, and amazing in her career, pre-and post NASA. A class act at all times; RIP, Sally.
ReplyDeleteIt would be a good time for US feminists to stir some commotion, this hero woman's family deserves that pension.
ReplyDeleteRIP, Sally!
ReplyDeleteI read her obituary and watched/read some interviews with her. She was Superwoman before she ever got near that space shuttle.
ReplyDeleteShe was a scholarship kid to Harvard-Westlake, then scholarship all the way at Stanford, where she double-majored in physics and English, went on to PhD level in physics, and was on the top-level Stanford woman's tennis team at the same time. She wasn't just a nerd, she was athletic enough to be a pro athlete, and "liberal artsy" enough to graduate in English.
Then she joined NASA, about five years before she became famous. She learned how to fly a fighter pilot plane and she developed the robotic arm the shuttle used. She worked her way up to eventually being a member of the Shuttle crew; she wasn't some affirmative action appointee.
Looked at from 2012, possibly the most amazing thing she accomplished was to achieve celebrity and completely and deliberately walk away from it. When Dr. Ride first flew into space, she was the same age (32) as Kim Kardashian is now(31). Dr. Ride had also been on the cover of numerous magazines, all at the urging of NASA. She resigned from NASA to have a private life.
She was a silent but fervent atheist, like many scientists, and she was also a lesbian. But she was wise enough to keep those two very fundamental facts about herself to herself while she was at NASA.
I wish I'd known more about her when she was alive, but you know what? She didn't want me to.
Good lesson for this blog.
Well done, Sally. Really, well done.
Thanks for the info @Jamie. We need more smart role models like Dr. Sally Ride. Get famous for using your brain, not your boobs. No one wants to do hard work anymore.
ReplyDelete@astrogirl - Totally agree! I hope her family gets her pension, but don't know how that will happen w/o big changes.
dia papaya it was my idealistic inner child mouthing off wishful thoughts.
ReplyDeleteyikes.
ReplyDeletesally didn't ride, she scissored.
um, okay.