200 Years of LGBTQIA+ History

From Shadows to Pride — UK & Global Timeline

Source Record

Sally Ride - First American woman in space

Why this source is used

NASA history page on Sally Ride as the first American woman in space.

Start with the answer

Start with the answer Which LGBTQ+ public figures changed visibility? They changed visibility in politics, science, activism and literature by showing that queer lives could be public, influential and historic. Read the topic guide Queer Public Trailblazers Queer public trailblazers made LGBTQ+ lives visible across science, civil rights, elected office and trans liberation, often while facing erasure or punishment.

Source Status

Publisher
NASA
Type
government
Reliability
high
Cited by
3 pages

Source Links

Open original source https://www.nasa.gov/history/sally-ride-first-american-woman-in-space/ Accessed 5 June 2026 Open archived copy https://web.archive.org/web/*/https://www.nasa.gov/history/sally-ride-first-american-woman-in-space/

Used by Topics

Queer Public Trailblazers

Used by Questions

Which LGBTQ+ public figures changed visibility?

Used by Timeline Events

18 June 1983 CulturalPeople

Sally Ride — First American Woman in Space

Sally Ride became the first American woman to travel to space, launching aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger on mission STS-7. A physicist by training, Ride was selected for NASA's astronaut programme in 1978 and went on to fly two shuttle missions. After leaving NASA, she became a physics professor at the University of California, San Diego and founded Sally Ride Science, a company dedicated to inspiring young people — especially girls — to pursue STEM careers. Ride's 27-year relationship with Tam O'Shaughnessy, a childhood friend and fellow scientist, was only revealed in her obituary when she died of pancreatic cancer in 2012 aged 61.