Was sally ride gay

She went into space again for STSG, and was in training for her third mission when Challenger was destroyed. In life, Sally Ride became famous as America's first woman in space — and in death, she's now added to her fame as the first acknowledged gay revelation came in a low-key way.

In a statement prepared before her death on Monday of pancreatic cancer, Ride, 61, acknowledged publicly for the first time that she had a longstanding relationship with a woman, Tam. Ride (who also once served as president of ) chose to disclose her LGBTQ+ status posthumously; as such, she is also the first known member of that community to fly in space.

American astronaut and physicist. Her parents supported her interest in science from a young age, and although she considered a career in professional tennis, science eventually won out.

Why Sally Ride waited :

Purchase a print. Despite being such a public figure, Ride always valued her privacy.

Her 5-year marriage to a fellow astronaut in the 80s was documented, but her year same-sex relationship was only known by friends and family. She tried to downplay the importance of her gender, but still had to field a number of inane and biased questions from the media.

Ride was appointed to the committee to investigate the disaster, and was the only one to support the engineer who had warned of technical problems prior to lift-off. She retired from NASA in and began to teach, dedicating herself to encouraging children, especially young girls, to love science.

She was one of 8, applicants who answered an advertisement to join the space program, and was officially accepted by NASA in Inshe became the first American woman in space, and the youngest, as a crew member on Challenger for the STS-7 mission.

Brian Epstein Reed Erickson E. Sally Ride to — American astronaut and physicist.