Hey, short waivers, Erin Scott here talking to you from up the dazzled rainbow microphone

because it is Prad Month.

For the next week, we're going to bring you our favorite stories that celebrate short

wave queerness.

And we're going to start off with an astronaut love story, starring the first American woman

to travel to space.

So strap in for maybe my favorite shortwave episode of all time from former host Maddie

Sophia and producer Brett Hansen.

You're listening to shortwave from NPR.

I was just a little kid in elementary school when I first learned about Sally Ride, the

first American woman to go into space in 1983.

You know, June 18th is the anniversary of her flight to shocks me.

I remember being there and it's just unbelievable.

The audition and lift off, lift off of FCS 7 and America's first woman.

Tammel Shaunasi is a science writer, educator, and advocate.

And she knows Sally Ride probably better than anybody.

You know, if I had to list almost the labels that she liked.

She was an athlete, she was a physicist, and in fact being a physicist was her favorite,

you know, it's who she thought she was, a physicist.

And then of course she was an astronaut.

And through that she became a role model for other girls and young women around the world

who thought, wow, if Sally Ride can fly in space, you know, maybe I can too.

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