As news of America's first woman on space Sally Ride's death spread like wildfire, many expressed their support to her grieving family members including Tam O'Shaughnessy her partner of 27 years.
Sally Ride, 61, succumbed to pancreatic cancer, against which she fought a 17-month battle, says a press release statement issued by the Sally Ride Science Foundation.
Throughout her fight against the dreaded ailment, Tam was by her side providing strength to the first woman astronaut inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall Of Fame.
Tam O'Shaughnessy, an accomplished Professor Emerita of School Psychology at San Diego State University, is also Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President of Sally Ride's Foundation.
Besides, Sally is survived by her mother, Joyce; her sister, Bear; her niece, Caitlin; and her nephew, Whitney.
As the world mourns the death of a woman who was a pioneer in space study and travel, those of you, who are interested in contributing to the cause against pancreatic cancer can donate here.
Ride, front row, left, with her STS-7 crewmates. In addition to launching America's first female astronaut, it was also the first mission with a five-member crew.Front row, left to right: Ride, Commander Bob Crippen, Pilot Frederick Hauck. Back row, left to right: John Fabian, Norm ThagardNASARide and her crew mates rocket into space aboard Challenger at 7:33 a.m. EDT on June 18, 1983.Ride later described the launch as "exhilarating, terrifying and overwhelming all at the same time."NASAMission STS-7 aboard Challenger soars toward space on June 18, 1983.One of Ride's jobs was to call out "Roll program" seven seconds after launch. "I’ll guarantee that those were the hardest words I ever had to get out of my mouth," she said later.NASARide floats alongside Challenger's middeck airlock hatch.NASAThree days before launch, Ride takes a last look at Houston before taking off in a T-38 jet, bound for NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASARide uses a screw driver to clean out an air filtering system in the middeck of the Challenger.Her shirt features a cartoon of 35 busy astronauts around a shuttle with the acronym TFNG, which stands for "thirty five new guys," a nickname for the 1978 astronaut class.NASARide, right, and astronaut Kathryn Sullivan synchronize their watches in the "white room" before entering Challenger to launch on mission STS-41G on October 5, 1984.It was the first flight to carry two women into space. "At least," Ride said of Sullivan," she had someone to share the attention with."NASA
