Ronald McNair | |
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![]() McNair in 1978 | |
Born | Ronald Erwin McNair October 21, 1950 |
Died | January 28, 1986 North Atlantic Ocean | (aged 35)
Education | North Carolina A&T State University (BS) Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MS, PhD) |
Awards | Congressional Space Medal of Honor |
Space career | |
NASA astronaut | |
Time in space | 7d 23h 15m |
Selection | NASA Group 8 (1978) |
Missions | STS-41-B STS-51-L (disaster) |
Mission insignia | ![]() ![]() |
Scientific career | |
Thesis | Energy Absorption and Vibrational Heating in Molecules Following Intense Laser Excitation (1977) |
Doctoral advisor | Michael Stephen Feld |
Ronald Erwin McNair (October 21, 1950 – January 28, 1986) was an American NASA astronaut and physicist. He died at the age of 35 during the launch of the Space Shuttle Challenger on mission STS-51-L, in which he was serving as one of three mission specialists in a crew of seven.
Prior to the Challenger disaster, McNair flew as a mission specialist on STS-41-B aboard Challenger from February 3 to 11, 1984, becoming the second African American in space.