Mary Cleave, the first woman to fly on NASA’s space shuttle after Challenger disaster, dies at 76

Accuweather ^ | Nov 30, 2023 11:16 AM CST | By Jackie Wattles & NASA

[ProtectOurFreedom]

She was a highly educated and accomplished person. But are these REALLY "firsts"?

• first woman to fly on a space shuttle mission after the Challenger disaster
• first woman to lead the Science Mission Directorate as associate administrator

They are REALLY scraping to get "firsts" these days.

[Red Badger]

Democrats are all about ‘optics’..........................

[algore]

yes, but was she wearing diapers like Joe ?

[pops88]

How many boosters did she get?

[Red Badger]

At least two......................

[ProtectOurFreedom]

Optics and message.

[xp38]

She looks a bit like Buzz Aldrin to me in that shot.

[3RIVRS]

Sad to hear.

But seriously? First....? Really? Thats where we are?

[PLMerite]

I see what you did there...

Good one.

[Blue Highway]

They failed to mention which shuttle(s) she’s flown on.

[HIDEK6]

Now that all these women “pioneers” are dying off, can we start pretending that being a woman is not that big a deal?

[1Old Pro]

Now that all these women “pioneers” are dying off, can we start pretending that being a woman is not that big a deal?

No kidding, it's gotten way tired.

[Blue Highway]

Much better article linked below that mentions which shuttle she flew on (both times on Atlantis) and details what her mission was.

Mary Cleave remembered as trailblazer

[Red Badger]

[ytrebil]

first woman to fly on a space shuttle mission after the Challenger disaster

That makes me wonder who was the first man to fly on a space shuttle mission after the Challenger disaster.

[DesertRhino]

Lesbo?

[NorthMountain]

That would be STS-26R, the seventh flight of Space Shuttle DISCOVERY.

Crew consisted of Richard O. Covey, John M. Lounge, David C. Hilmers, and George D. Nelson under the command of Frederick H. Hauck.

They all had a few things in common ...

[DesertRhino]

For that one, STS-26, they had two “classic’ astronauts as pilots. Both were combat fighter pilots in Vietnam. They rest of the crew were two more fighter pilots, one with combat flying in Vietnam, the other got his wings in 72 and missed it. The last guy was a younger male astronaut who was a physicist and astronomy expert.

You see, it was important that this mission was done professionally.

[Vermont Lt]

Every person in the media these days must be distilled to their least common “tribe.” This distillation is destroying the culture that made America great.

It was the “melting pot” that should have been expanded to include those who were traditionally excluded. But the crucible of American culture is what made the Alloy that the world envies.

There is really no need to call out firsts for things like Astronauts until we reach Mars.