TRENTON – Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg, D-Bergen, released the following statement today regarding the passing of Sally Ride, America’s first female to orbit Earth:
“More than twenty-nine years ago, Sally Ride broke gender barriers in space programs across the world by becoming the first female to go into space. Over the past three decades, 42 other American women have followed the trail she blazed and have ventured into space.
“As a role model and author of children’s books about space, Sally spent her life inspiring children, particularly young girls, to go into the male-dominated fields of science, technology and math and fighting to change society’s perceptions regarding females’ roles in these fields. She traveled to the stars in a mission of exploration and she will forever be a beacon of inspiration for young women throughout the world. Her work in creating a world where young women can achieve greatness will forever stand as her legacy.”
Senator Diane Allen, R-Burlington, also issued the following statement on the passing of Sally Ride:
“With Sally Ride’s passing, America has lost a role model and pioneering woman. She was an example for little girls and young women not only because of her historic space flight, but because she used her life to inspire others to reach for the stars. She was taken too early from this Earth by cancer, but will forever remain a legend to every woman aiming who, just like Sally Ride, aspires to put another crack in the glass ceiling.”