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发帖数: 19713 | 1 Sally Ride, the first American woman in space, passed away at the age of 61,
leaving behind her longtime female partner.
Ride, who suffered from pancreatic cancer, died peacefully Monday. Born in
Los Angeles in 1951, Ride obtained degrees in physics and English before
signing up to become a NASA astronaut in 1977; it was the first time NASA
allowed women in space. Ride apparently wasn’t out then — it's unlikely an
openly gay person would be allowed to become an astronaut at the time, as
the government believed gays represented security risks thanks to potential
blackmail situations. She was actually married to a fellow astronaut, Steven
Hawley, during part of her time with NASA.
Ride was chosen to be an astronaut in 1978 and jetted out of Earth's orbit
in 1983 as the first American woman to go into space. Ride was part of the
Challenger mission and would attend another Challenger voyage in 1984. A
third trip was halted after the deadly 1986 Challenger explosion killed
several astronauts and teacher Christa McAuliffe. Ride retired from NASA in
1987, eventually becoming a college professor in California.
A hero to millions of girls and women, Ride leaves behind her partner of 27
years, Tam O’Shaughnessy, as well as her mother, Joyce; her sister, Bear;
her niece, Caitlin, and nephew, Whitney; her staff of 40 at Sally Ride
Science; and many friends and colleagues around the country, according to
Ride's website.
"Sally Ride and Tam O’Shaughnessy became friends at the age of 12 when they
both played tennis," an article on Ride's website recalls. "While their
lives took different paths, they stayed in contact over the years." Ride
went onto Stanford and became the first American woman in space, while O’
Shaughnessy became a professional tennis player, then earned degress in
biology and psychology and became a science teacher. She worked with Ride on
six books — Voyager, The Third Planet, The Mystery of Mars, Exploring Our
Solar System, Mission Planet Earth, and Mission Save the Planet. She also
helped lead Sally Ride Science, which Ride founded in 2001 to inspire
children through science.
"The nation has lost one of its finest leaders, teachers, and explorers,"
NASA administrator Charles Bolden told USA Today.
Ride may have been the first LGBT person in space, but she isn't the only to
contribute to the advancement of space exploration. Scientist James Pollack
worked alongside Carl Sagan and was a top researcher on planetary science
and the effect of nuclear war. The late Todd Hawley is one of the three
founders of the International Space University and came out publicly in 1990
when faced with a whisper campaign seeking to undermine him. | g********d
发帖数: 4174 | 2 Her partner TAM O'SHAUGHNESSY
Dr. Tam O'Shaughnessy is the COO and Executive Vice President of Sally Ride
Science and a Professor Emerita of School Psychology at San Diego State
University. Dr. O'Shaughnessy has been interested in science since she was a
little girl. One of her favorite childhood memories is of watching tadpoles
in a creek gradually sprout legs, go green, and turn into frogs. She
studied biology in college, earning B.S. and M.S. degrees from Georgia State
University. While teaching college biology, she became interested in how
kids learn and went on to earn her Ph.D. in school psychology from the
University of California, Riverside. A former science teacher and award-
winning children's science writer, Dr. O'Shaughnessy has extensive
experience cultivating girls' and boys' interests in reading, math, and
science. She helped found Sally Ride Science because of her long-standing
commitment to science education and her recognition of the importance of
supporting girls' interests in science. She finds her work with Sally Ride
Science irresistible. As the Executive Vice President for Content, Dr. O'
Shaughnessy is responsible for all publications and professional development
at Sally Ride Science. She oversees the development of Sally Ride Science's
classroom books, teacher guides, and educator institutes. In addition, Dr.
O'Shaughnessy is the author of 9 science books for children, including "Our
Changing Climate: Ecosystems" and "The Third Planet" (co-authored with Sally
Ride), which won the American Institute of Physics Children's Science
Writing Award. CLOSE |
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