I just looked this up and it is (mostly*) true! The first American woman in space was Sally Ride in 1983. Here’s a picture of her in space communicating with ground controllers during the 6-day Challenger mission. (Source)
Prior to her first space flight, Ride got a lot of shit from the media and remained remarkably calm and non-homicidal:
“No other astronaut was ever asked questions like these: Will the flight affect your reproductive organs? The answer, delivered with some asperity: “There’s no evidence of that.” Do you weep when things go wrong on the job? Retort: “How come nobody ever asks Rick those questions?” Will you become a mother? First an attempt at evasion, then a firm smile: “You notice I’m not answering.” In an hour of interrogation that is by turns intelligent, inane and almost insulting, Ride remains calm, unrattled and as laconic as the lean, tough fighter jockeys who surround her. “It may be too bad that our society isn’t further along and that this is such a big deal,” she reflects.” (Source)
After her death in 2012 it was revealed that she had been with her partner Tam O’Shaughnessy (a woman) for 27 years. Below is a picture of Ride (left), her partner O’Shaughnessy (right), and their dog Gypsy, circa 1985. (Source).
Ride and O’Shaughnessy co-founded the Sally Ride Foundation, aimed at promoting interest in science among elementary and middle school aged-kids, especially girls. The two women also co-wrote six children’s science books. Here is a picture of them speaking at an American Library Association Conference in 2008. (source)
*Ride had been previously married to a man and it is unknown exactly how she identified (lesbian, bisexual, pansexual, etc).
But yeah, Sally Ride was not only the first American woman in space, but also the first and only known LGBT astronaut at NASA. And she was also a badass. (source).
(Also: Bear Ride, Sally’s sister. Dr. Bear Ride is a Presbyterian minister who has been arrested along with her wife at a LGBT march. (source) Badassery must run in the family.)
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