First US woman in space dies

Sally Ride, the first US woman to travel into space, has died after a 17-month battle with pancreatic cancer. She was 61.

The announcement was made by her organisation, Sally Ride Science, in San Diego.

Ride, a physicist, blasted off in the US space shuttle "Challenger" on June 18, 1983.

"Sally's historic flight into space captured the nation's imagination and made her a household name," Sally Ride Science said in a statement.