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Sally Ride Takes Her Final Flight

Posted by Unknown on from the new-life-haunting-the-iss dept.

fructose writes "Sally Ride, America's first woman in space died today at age 61. She succumbed to pancreatic cancer according to her office in San Diego. Here's to wishing her a safe trip on her final journey."

5 of 251 comments (clear)

  1. RIP Sally by slasher999 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I still remember that historic launch. Her name was one everyone who was old enough to remember knew and never forgot from that day forward.

    1. Re:RIP Sally by Hatta · · Score: 4, Interesting

      What I didn't know until now is that she was a lesbian. Which is fair enough, if she was out back then she probably wouldn't have been considered a good role model. Good for her, she broke ground in more ways than one.

      --
      Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
  2. Why did it take so long? by sageres · · Score: 4, Interesting

    The first woman in space was Valentina Tereshkova. She flew on June 16th, 1963. That was two years after the first man flew into the space.
    On the other hand, the first American woman (Sally Ride, RIP) flew in 1982.
    Question: Why did it take NASA almost two decades to send the woman in space?

    1. Re:Why did it take so long? by arth1 · · Score: 3, Interesting

      The first woman in space was Valentina Tereshkova. She flew on June 16th, 1963. That was two years after the first man flew into the space.
      On the other hand, the first American woman (Sally Ride, RIP) flew in 1982.
      Question: Why did it take NASA almost two decades to send the woman in space?

      While part of the answer undoubtedly is misogyny and discrimination against women in general, part of it is a cultural taboo - female plumbing. Female cosmonauts used diapers, and thought little of it. Female astronauts probably would have (not alluding to the one that did) if male-dominated NASA hadn't spent millions and countless years on designing a space toilet and non-intrusive "devices" to let women pee in space.

  3. Re:Safe trip? by fremsley471 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Several people I have known have appeared to me in my dreams as they died. One recent apparition was during the day, in an idle moment my thoughts were a tumble of old memories of an old acquaintance as they died of cancer (which I was unaware of). They don't haunt me, and only in one case has there been any interaction; someone I went to school with was stabbed, I was shaking him awake in my dreams, although I was 200 miles away at the time. I told his cousin on the Monday morning, after he asked "Did you hear what happened to Mark?" Mark died on the operating table, but was bought back. There have been several other incidences, but nothing supernatural happened when my father died when I was eight, or my mother in my arms a few weeks back.

    These are the most amazing events that have happened in my life. I know that were are more than a bunch cells. However, and it's a big however, I also understand that the most likely explanations are I'm a big, fat liar or it's all just coincidences. It's impossible to refute the first, it's all about that beautiful word, trust. I'm also a scientist and understand the concept of proof and how coincidences work. But we're 30 years on, and still haven't dreamed about Mark again.