When NASA announced a new class of 35 astronauts in 1978, the group marked a turning point in U.S. space history. Among them were six women — Sally Ride, Judy Resnik, Anna Fisher, Kathryn Sullivan, Shannon Lucid and Rhea Seddon — a first for the agency. Their inclusion signaled the beginning of a new era, one in which women would take their place alongside men in space exploration.
The milestone became visible to the world on June 18, 1983, when physicist Sally Ride launched aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger on mission STS-7. She became the first American woman in space, more than two decades after Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova’s pioneering flight in 1963 and a year after the USSR sent its second woman, Svetlana Savitskaya, into orbit.
Yet NASA’s groundbreaking decision was not without growing pains. The agency, long dominated by military test pilots and male engineers, struggled to adapt to the practical needs of female astronauts. Personal Preference Kits for the women included mascara, lipstick, and other cosmetics — items some saw as unnecessary distractions. Sullivan, who later became the first American woman to perform a spacewalk, recalled her frustration: “A whole kit devoted to make-up suggested someone thought we might be less mission-focused than our male counterparts.”
Others, like Seddon, welcomed the option. She later explained that she requested some basic items so that in-flight photographs would not leave her “fading into the background.” The women also lobbied for changes to toiletries provided by NASA, pushing to replace men’s grooming products with alternatives more suited to their needs.
In some cases, missteps were less cosmetic and more biological. NASA engineers, unsure how to prepare for menstruation in space, initially offered Ride an oversized supply of tampons, prompting laughter among her colleagues. “They put some tampons in the PPK and asked, ‘Is 100 enough?’ Sally thought that was far too much,” Sullivan recalled.
Still, progress came alongside the awkward adjustments. NASA modified its equipment to fit different body types, creating custom absorption garments — space diapers — for its new female recruits. The Shuttle program also opened doors on the ground, with women gradually appearing in mission control, though it was not until 1984 that the agency appointed its first female flight director.
Astronaut Anna Fisher later reflected that the class of 1978 represented more than just six women entering space. “NASA had made the commitment to accepting women into the program,” she said. “Even if you looked in mission control, there were women. It was slow, but it was happening.”
Their achievements challenged stereotypes that only men had “the right stuff.” By proving themselves in orbit and beyond, NASA’s first female astronauts laid the foundation for future generations — from shuttle crews to today’s Artemis missions preparing to return humans, including women, to the Moon.
