The Remarkable Sally Ride

I'm not a big one for memorial blogs. Great people die every day, often unnoticed by everyone who wasn't close to them. Famous people do, too.

Everyone once in a while, someone dies who is both great and famous. Sally Ride was famous to many people because she was the first woman the US sent into space (not the first woman in space - Russia had us beat by a couple of decades), the youngest to go into space and, for those who care about such things, the first lesbian in space (someone's sexual orientation, to me, is not important, but I can understand her being an inspiration to many for that reason).

For me, those are trivia question answers, not why someone is "great". She was a good and dedicated scientist, an accomplished astronaut who went on to teach and make a difference in the world of science and space long after she stopped being an astronaut. And that's good.

But, to me, she was great because of how she cared about space and science, how she dedicated so much of her life to sharing that love with children. To me, she was great because she understood what was really important and stood up for those who were worried about safety when everyone else was on gung-ho fast forward. She brought that sense of practicality and understanding of priorities to everything she did, which was why she was so popular on studies and reviews in her lifetime.

To me, she wasn't great because she was an astronaut. She was an astronaut because she was great. She spent all her life trying to make the world better than it was when she came in, mostly in a quiet but profound way.

She will be missed.

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People Like This Are Why Manned Spaceflight Is Worth Fighting For

Many of you probably know I read the New York Times (online version - and, no, I won't miss paper newspapers). Well, I found a doozy of a story there earlier this week. As some of you also know, I have worked with a number of astronauts and, I kid you not, really work at NASA with space stuff.

One of the many hats I've worn the past twenty years is that of EVA Safety Engineer and, during my six years in that role, I had the good fortune to be the EVA Safety Flight lead for the last two Hubble Servicing Missions (one of which was the reason I won a Silver Snoopy as I explained here).

It wasn't just that it was an opportunity to help repair a treasure for all mankind. I also got to work with some remarkable individuals. The folks at Goddard Spaceflight Center devise the tools and hardware and workarounds and repair equipment, the procedures and replacement parts. I've never seen such an innovative and responsive bunch in my life. It was an honor to work with them (though I'm not sure they would say the same).

However, as exceptional as the ground support crews were, the astronauts were exceptional: Steven Smith, John Grunsfeld, Michaele Foale, Claude Niccolier, Richard Linnehan, James Newman, Michael Massimino, Nancy Currie, and Jean-Francois Clervoy. Gifted, devoted, smart, detailed, talented, hard-working...there aren't enough superlatives for these people.

Do read the NYT article. It's an excellent tribute to the exceptional Dr. John Grunsfeld. I hope they're successful in their upcoming repair mission. There are risks, quite significant ones, and they know what they're doing. Scott D. Altman, Gregory C. Johnson, Michael T. Good, K. Megan McArthur, John M. Grunsfeld, Michael J. Massimino, Andrew J. Feustel. They feel that what they have to gain is worth the risk.

All honor to them.

But I'll be glad when these exceptional folks get back home.

By the way, what do you think of my new look? Cool, hunh? All kudos to LadyJava.

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