Space, the final secret of Sally Ride, "was a lesbian"

Sally Ride was a lesbian The first American who has traveled in space, extinguished the age 'of 61 years for pancreatic cancer and hailed by Barack Obama as "a national hero and a powerful model" that inspired "generations of girls eager to reach for the stars "had a secret companion for 27 years. And it 'did not know until today with a posthumous coming out, when the Foundation named after her has published a statement in which it identifies as "partners" Tam O'Shaughnessy, her friend since the two were 12 years of age'. In the days when the world celebrates another great pioneer and highly controversial figure, Amelia Earhart (the Google doodle dedicated to the 115 years since birth), one discovers the secret of the Ride.    degree in physics from Stanford in 1978 and hired by NASA after he answered an ad in the gornale, Sally, had flown into orbit with the Challenger in June 1983 at the age 'of 32 years. His was not the first space mission to a woman - twenty years earlier, in 1963, there was the Soviet Valentina Tereskova - but became popular in the U.S.. In 1984 there was the second mission, always with the Challenger, for a total of 343 hours in space, while the third jump 'in the aftermath of the Challenger, exploded in flight with seven astronauts on board in 1986.  The example of the Ride Originally from Los Angeles, opened 'the way for a generation of astronauts: NASA after her send' space Judith Resnik and his second mission you find 'another woman in the crew, Kathryn Sullivan. Since then, 45 women, United States and abroad, have flown in space, including two commanders of shuttle missions. Sally, who married in 1982, astronaut Steven Hawley and divorced in 1987, I do not speak 'never in public of the intimate relationship with Tam. The two have followed different professional paths, but found themselves colleagues in the Foundation. For the truth ', the laughs did not much talk about' for other aspects of his life. "Nobody outside the family knew of the cancer," said the brother, interviewed by Buzzfeed, "for 17 months, no one knew."