RIP: Sally Ride, at 61

Sally Ride, the first American woman to fly in space, has died after a 17-month battle with pancreatic cancer. She was 61.

In addition to flying for NASA -- "All adventures, especially into new territory, are scary," she once said -- Ride was a physicist and a science writer.

After retiring from space, she founded Sally Ride Science, an organization created to inspire young people, especially girls, to stick with their interest in science, and pursue careers in science and engineering.

[sallyridescience]