Sally Ride, first US woman in space, dies at 61

[The Brain]

There's a lot of things a female astronaut can have inspired girls to do. Easiest is obviously an interest in space, though that doesn't have to extend solely to being an astronaut. Then also inspiring girls to be interested in science and more generally inspiring young girls that they really can be anything that they want to be. I think the latter is the most important / at the heart of why Sally Ride is/was so inspiring.

Well there is a reason why female astronauts inspire but female scientists do not: scientists are not cool.  Except maybe mad scientists...maybe we need more crazy female science super villians.

The mad female astronaut was real inspiring.

[Barrister]

So apparently Sally Ride was not only the first woman into space, but also the first lesbian put into space. 

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/the-hot-button/remembering-sally-ride-americas-first-woman-and-lesbian-to-fly-in-space/article4437138/

[derspiess]

So apparently Sally Ride was not only the first woman into space, but also the first lesbian put into space. 

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/the-hot-button/remembering-sally-ride-americas-first-woman-and-lesbian-to-fly-in-space/article4437138/

And apparently her sister's name is Bear.  Bear Ride

[Syt]

Lou Reed - Ride, Sally, Ride

[garbon]

Lou Reed - Ride, Sally, Ride

Yep mentioned in the article / sadly the first thought that came to mind when I saw that Sally Ride had died.

@BB - Yeah I didn't even realize she was a lesbian until I read that it said she was survived by her partner of 27 years. - though I guess that's what California's laws will help ensure - that kids learn that various influential figures were gay.

[Siege]

Did she have quite a ride?

[Barrister]

Lou Reed - Ride, Sally, Ride

Yep mentioned in the article / sadly the first thought that came to mind when I saw that Sally Ride had died.

@BB - Yeah I didn't even realize she was a lesbian until I read that it said she was survived by her partner of 27 years. - though I guess that's what California's laws will help ensure - that kids learn that various influential figures were gay.

It's not a matter of "not realizing" - she never mentioned that fact while alive.  It was only in her death that her family mentioned it.

[garbon]

Yes but no. I mean it seems a little hard to believe that no one knew about this while she had a partner for the last 27 years.

[Faeelin]

It's not a matter of "not realizing" - she never mentioned that fact while alive.  It was only in her death that her family mentioned it.

Hrm. I agree with garbon here. She lived openly with her partner for a couple of decades. It's true they never appeared in pride parades together, but this isn't the same as keeping her sexual orientation a secret.

[garbon]

This article is interesting.

http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/07/the-women-who-would-have-been-sally-ride/260246/

Fun blurb:

However, there was one job that the NASA planners thought a woman might be suited for:

The question of direct sexual release on a long-duration space mission must be considered... It is possible that a woman, qualified from a scientific viewpoint, might be persuaded to donate her time and energies for the sake of improving crew morale; however, such a situation might create interpersonal tensions far more dynamic than the sexual tensions it would release... Thus, it appears that methods involving sublimation are more practical than these more direct alternatives.