Sally Ride, American Hero, Dead at 61

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Marion Pellicano Ambrose


National hero, Sally Ride,died of pancreatic cancer yesterday. Ride was a former astronaut and physicist.After her space flights, Ride continued to inspire young people all over theworld through her company, Sally Ride Space.


Sally’s first space flightwas aboard the shuttle Challenger on June 18, 1983. Her second, also onChallenger, was October 5, 1984, logging 343 hours in space. A third flight was cancelledwhen Challenger exploded in 1986. She was on the commission investigating thataccident and later served on the panel for the 2003 Columbia shuttle accident, the only person onboth boards. She also was on the president's committee of science advisers. Ridewas a physicist, writer of five science books for children and president of herown company, which motivates youngsters to pursue careers in science,technology, engineering and math. She had also been a professor of physics atthe University of California, San Diego.


"People around the world still recognize her name as the firstAmerican woman in space, and she took that title seriously even after departingNASA," Eileen Collins, the first female space shuttle commander, said in astatement. "She never sought media attention for herself, but ratherfocused on doing her normally outstanding job."
When Ride first launched into space, feminist icons such as Gloria Steinemand Jane Fonda were at Kennedy Space Centerand many wore T-shirts alluding to the pop song with the refrain of the samename: "Ride, Sally Ride."


NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, a former astronaut, said Ride"broke barriers with grace and professionalism -- and literally changedthe face of America'sspace program."
"The nation has lost one of its finest leaders, teachers and explorers,"he said in a statement.


One of Ride's last legacies was allowing middle school students to taketheir own pictures of the moon using cameras aboard NASA's twin Grailspacecraft in a project spearheaded by her company.
"Sally literally could have done anything with her life. She decidedto devote her life to education and to inspiring young people. To me, that'ssuch a powerful thing. It's extraordinarily admirable," said Maria Zuber,a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who heads the Grailmission.


Ride's obituary said she is survived by Tam O'Shaughnessy, her partner of27 years and a co-founder of Sally Ride Science; her mother, Joyce; her sister,Bear, a niece; and a nephew.