July 23. 2012 – Sally Ride, the first American woman to travel into space, died Monday at the age of 61.
On June 18, 1983, Ride became the first American woman to fly in space when she blasted off on the Challenger as part of the STS-7 crew, according to NASA.
She flew her second shuttle mission on October 5, 1984, again aboard the Challenger. That mission, STS-41G, was the first shuttle crew to include two women.
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