Margaret Rhea Seddon, MD, alumna of the  College of Medicine (’73) at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC), last month was inducted into the Astronaut Hall of Fame during a ceremony at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

One of NASA’s first female astronauts, Seddon will join the ranks of well-known space explorers including Alan Shepard, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin.

Seddon is a three-time space shuttle astronaut. She was selected by NASA in 1978 as one of the first six women to enter the astronaut program. On her final flight, STS-58/Columbia, Seddon was payload commander in charge of all science activities. This life science research flight is recognized by NASA as the most successful and efficient Spacelab mission ever flown. In all, Dr. Seddon has spent a total of 30 days in space.

From 1996 until 2007, Seddon served as assistant chief medical officer at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville. Since 2007, she has been a co-owner of LifeWings Partners, LLC, providing health care institutions across the country with support and guidance on leadership and patient safety.