Sally Ride graduated Stanford University with a double-major in Physics and English, going on to earn a doctorate in Science. She was quite an accomplished athlete as well, and wanted to make a name for herself as a tennis player. But when plans of a professional tennis career fell through, Ride decided to join NASA, joining the inaugural women’s class.

On this day, June 18, in 1983, Sally Ride lifted off on STS-7 (the space shuttle Challenger), from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, to deploy several satellites and conduct scientific experiments on the effects of microgravity on ants and metals.

After flying several more missions for NASA. Ride retired to found her own company, Sally Ride Science, to “to make a difference in girls’ lives, and in society’s perceptions of their roles in technical fields.” Ride also wrote several children’s science books, including To Space and Back; Voyager; The Third Planet; The Mystery of Mars; and Exploring Our Solar System.