backflashes:

R.I.P. Dr. Sally Ride, America’s first woman in space. When she was part of the 1983 Challenger crew she was also the youngest American to ever enter space. She still is. 

And, she is also, apparently the only NASA astronaut to have ever been photographed with a Muppet!

Go to the New York Times to read about Sally Ride’s lifetime accomplishments. She was a true American trailblazer, whose death from pancreatic cancer at 61 was way too soon.