Was sally ride gay

In life, Sally Ride became famous as America's first woman in space — and in death, she's now added to her fame as the first acknowledged gay revelation came in a low-key way.

A single line in Sally Ride's obituary has caused a lot of fuss over the last day-the fact that she spent the last 27 years of her life with another woman. It's a bit of a shame that the buzz of the public revelation has taken away from what it seems Dr. Ride would have preferred her legacy to be: pushing young women into careers in math and science.

The Human Rights Campaign, the largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights group in the United States, posted a tribute to Sally Ride on the front page of its site on Tuesday.

In life, Sally Ride became famous as America's first woman in space — and in death, she's now added to her fame as the first acknowledged gay astronaut. The revelation came in a low-key way: Monday's obituary from Sally Ride Science, the educational venture she founded a decade ago, referred to Tam O'Shaughnessy as "her partner of 27 years. In an email today, Sally Ride's sister, Bear Ride, explained why the former astronaut kept quiet about her sexual orientation.

In life, Sally Ride became famous as America's first woman in space — and in death, she's now added to her fame as the first acknowledged gay revelation came in a low-key way.

Sally Ride made history as America's first woman in space on June 18, And as PBS recently highlighted , she had to put up with some incredibly sexist questions and comments before and after her inaugural launch. But that's just one piece of Ride's fascinating legacy: She also pushed NASA into reform after her death from pancreatic cancer in

The Human Rights Campaign, the largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights group in the United States, posted a tribute to Sally Ride on the front page of its site on Tuesday.

Three hundred and thirty American men and women have served as astronauts since the start of NASA's human spaceflight program. Only one is publicly known to have been gay or bisexual — Sally Ride — and she kept it private until her death, yesterday July 23 , when her obituary on the Sally Ride Science organization's website stated that Ride was survived by Tam O'Shaughnessy, her "partner of 27 years. As the first American woman in space and a scientist, Ride served as a role model for generations of young girls.