Not only was she the first woman in space, but she was the QUEEN of NASA PR when I was growing up. She was on just about every kid show that would have her talking about shuttle missions and life in space.
And while she held the distinction of being the first woman in space, she didn’t spend too much time on that distinction, she was just an astronaut.
I really admired her, and she will live on in history.
In her obit, she came out of the closet. It was never an issue to her!
Note that Sally Ride was not the first woman in space . . . She was the first AMERICAN woman in space. A soviet “lady cosmonaut” went up in the 60’s.
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Laika was a bitch dog! 8)
Valentina Tereshkova for the win!