Ellison Onizuka | |
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![]() Onizuka, c. 1980 | |
Born | Ellison Shoji Onizuka June 24, 1946 Kealakekua, Hawaii Territory, U.S. |
Died | January 28, 1986 North Atlantic Ocean | (aged 39)
Education | University of Colorado, Boulder (BS, MS) |
Awards | Congressional Space Medal of Honor |
Space career | |
NASA astronaut | |
Rank | Colonel, USAF |
Time in space | 3d 1h 33m |
Selection | NASA Group 8 (1978) |
Missions | STS-51-C STS-51-L (disaster) |
Mission insignia | ![]() ![]() |
Ellison Shoji Onizuka (Japanese: エリソン・ショージ・オニヅカ, 鬼塚 承次, Hepburn: Onizuka Shōji, June 24, 1946 – January 28, 1986) was an American astronaut, engineer, and U.S. Air Force flight test engineer from Kealakekua, Hawaii, who successfully flew into space with the Space Shuttle Discovery on STS-51-C. He died in the destruction of the Space Shuttle Challenger, on which he was serving as Mission Specialist for mission STS-51-L. Onizuka was the first Asian American and the first person of Japanese origin to reach space.[1][2]