Sally Ride, the first American woman to travel into space and the youngest American astronaut, died July 23 after a battle with pancreatic cancer.
Ride never came out when she was alive, but her obituary in the New York Times indicates that she was gay:
“Dr. Ride is survived by her partner of 27 years, Tam O'Shaughnessy; her mother, Joyce; and her sister, Ms. Scott, who is known as Bear.”
Ride’s landmark space flight was in 1983, when she was 32 years old. She was part of a second mission in 1984.
Among Ride’s passions was a desire to interest young people – especially girls – in math and science. She started a company in 2001 called Sally Ride Science with that goal in mind.
The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which was signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1996, denies federal survivors' benefits to same-sex partners of federal employees. Under DOMA, Ride’s longtime partner is not eligible for those benefits. President Obama and his Justice Department stopped defending DOMA after declaring it unconstitutional in February 2011 but the Republican majority in Congress continues their fight to legally uphold the law.
