Sally Ride, the first American woman to travel into space, has died following a 17-month battle with pancreatic cancer, and her death has thrown up the revelation she had a long-time female partner. Upon her death it was announced that she was survived by "Tam O'Shaughnessy, her partner of 27 years." Ride was married to fellow astronaut Steve Hawley, when she became the first women from the US to travel into space in 1983. Ride and O'Shaughnessy became partners in 1985, years after meeting while playing tennis as 12-year-olds. After leaving NASA in 1987 Ride took up a job at Stanford University. The couple started education initiative in Sally Ride Science and co-authored several science books for children. Ride’s sister Bear, who is gay, has told Buzzfeed: "We consider Tam a member of the family." "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," Bear added. "I hope it makes it easier for kids growing up gay that they know that another one of their heroes was like them.” Of Sally Ride's sexual orientation, Bear Ride said, "Sally didn't use labels. Sally had a very fundamental sense of privacy, it was just her nature, because we're Norwegians, through and through." US President Barack Obama has described Ride as "a national hero and a powerful role model." In a statement, he said Ride "inspired generations of young girls to reach for the stars." Ride was not the first woman in space. That distinction fell to the Soviet Union's Valentina Tereshkova in 1963.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Tuesday, 24th July 2012 - 3:07pm