The First American Woman in Space Has Died.
Pioneering female astronaut Sally Ride is dead at the age of 61 after a battle with pancreatic cancer.
She's known as the first American woman in space. Ride took flight as a crew member aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger in June of 1983. She also went into space in 1984 on board the Challenger.
A native of California, Ride joined the space program after being one of thousands of people who answered a newspaper ad looking for applicants. She also worked as a communications officer on the ground for the second and third Columbia missions.
Ride left NASA in 1987. She was also the author of five books on science for children.
