THIS NASA FILE PHOTO DATED JUNE 1983 SHOWS AMERICA'S FIRST WOMAN ASTRONAUT SALLY RIDE, AS SHE COMMUNICATES WITH GROUND CONTROLLERS FROM THE FLIGHT DECK DURING THE SIX-DAY SPACE MISSION OF THE CHALLENGER. RIDE, THE FIRST US WOMAN TO FLY IN SPACE, DIED ON JULY 23, 2012 AFTER A 17-MONTH BATTLE WITH PANCREATIC CANCER. AFP
SALLY Ride, the first US woman to fly in space, has died after a 17-month battle with pancreatic cancer. She was 61.
Ride first launched into space in 1983 aboard the Challenger shuttle, on the seventh mission of US space shuttle program.
In a statement, US President Barack Obama called her a ``national hero and a powerful role model'' and a woman who ``inspired generations of young girls to reach for the stars''.
``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 t o come,'' Obama said, offering condolences to Ride's family and friends.
Ride, born May 26, 1951, in Encino, California, earne d degrees in physics and English from Stanford University.
She applied to be an astronaut at US space agency NASA in 1977, after seeing an ad in her university's student newspaper.
She applied to be an astronaut at US space agency NASA in 1977, after seeing an ad in her university's student newspaper.
It was the first time the space agency was allowing applications from civilians - or from women.
Ride was one of 35 people, including just six women, chosen from a pool of 8000 applicants.
She flew in two space missions, logging nearly 350 hours in space. However, her third planned mission was grounded in 1986, after the trag ic Challenger explosion that killed all seven crew members.
Ride served on the commission to investigate the accident, and lat er was assigned to NASA headquarters.
She retired from NASA in 1987.
Ride was the first American woman, but not the first woman in space. That honour belongs to Russian cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova, who flew a three-day mission in 1963.
original: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/first-us-woman-in-space-sally-ride-dies/story-e6frf7jo-1226433527997
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