The first US woman in space, Sally Ride, died from pancreatic cancer at the age of 61.
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Robert H. Lawrence, Jr. was selected as the first African-American astronaut.
The Soviet Union's Vega 1 Space Probe began sending back images of Halley's Comet.
The US launched the first monkey into space aboard a V2 sounding rocket.
Rapper Tupac Shakur was shot four times in Las Vegas, Nevada, US.
Two newly discovered moons orbiting Pluto were named Nix and Hydra.
