#QueerHeroes Day 18 – Sally Ride
Sally Ride became the first American woman in space on this day, 36 years ago. The male engineers at the time asked her how many tampons she’d need for a one week space flight. Their guess was 100.
She quickly corrected them.
She was 32 years old and remains the youngest astronaut to ever travel in space. After leaving NASA in the 80s, she went on to become a physics professor at multiple universities, as well as investigating the Columbia and Challenger tragedies.
She died of pancreatic cancer in 2012, survived by her partner of nearly 30 years: Tam O’Shaughnessy.
Evan Brechtel 