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Sally Ride, the first American woman to ever go into space, passed away today after a 17-month battle with pancreatic cancer. She was 61.

Ride’s company, Sally Ride Science, made the announcement a couple hours ago and said Sally died in California.

Ride joined NASA in 1978 and rocketed into space six years later. She was also the youngest American to enter space – at age 32 – at the time.

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In 1987, Ride left NASA to work at Stanford’s Center for International Security and Arms Control. We send our thoughts to her friends and family.