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.
Share your tributes to Sally Ride
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.
The first woman in space was Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova, who orbited the Earth 48 times in 1963.
"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."
She was assigned to a third flight, but that was scratched after the Challenger exploded shortly after lift-off in 1986, claiming the lives of seven crew members on board. Ride helped investigate that accident and later that of Space Shuttle Columbia, becoming the only person to serve on the commissions investigating both accidents. In 2003, the Columbia disintegrated during re-entry into the atmosphere, killing all seven crew members.
Ride is survived by her partner of 27 years, Tam O'Shaughnessy, her mother, her sister and other family members.
The questions are:
- when will Nigeria personally visit the Space on their own?
- How about Nigeria's multi-million space programme? any visible progress in the project?
-When are we going to have a woman going to space with Nigeria's flag? (Blackberry babes please prepare for the trip)
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Idbabe
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