Jun. 18,  Astronauts Robert L. Crippen and Frederick H. Hauck piloted Challenger on a mission to launch two communications satellites and the reusable Shuttle Pallet Satellite. Sally K. Ride, one of three mission specialists on the first Shuttle flight with five crewmembers, became the first American woman astronaut. Challenger was named after the H.M.S. Challenger, an English research vessel operating from 1872 to 1876.