Gregory Jarvis, born August 24, 1944 in Detroit, Michigan, died during the Space Shuttle Challenger (STS-51-L) disaster on January 28, 1986. He was a payload specialist for Hughes Aircraft and it was his first mission into space. He was posthumously awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor in 2004.
Ellison Onizuka, born June 24, 1946 in Kealakekua, Hawaii (which was not even part of the US then), is the first Asian-American in space and the first person of Japanese origin to reach space. He went into space twice, first on Discovery (STS-51-C) in January 1985 and then Challenger (STS-51-L) in January 1986. He perished when Challenger blew up shortly after launch.
Onizuka Air Force Station in Sunnyvale, California is dedicated to him. He has an asteroid and a crater on the moon named after him. The airport in Kona, Hawaii has been renamed Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport, and he even has a shuttlecraft, which has appeared in three episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation, named after him.
Christa McAuliffe, born September 2, 1948 in Boston, Massachusetts, was the first teacher to be chosen to go into space. She was selected to participate in the NASA Teacher in Space Project.
She was launched aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger (STS-51-L) January 28, 1986. Unfortunately, the shuttle exploded just seconds after launch, killing everyone on board.
Richard "Dick" Scobee, born May 19, 1939 in Cle Elum, Washington, was commander of the Challenger (STS-51-L) when it exploded after liftoff January 28, 1986.
He had been in space previously aboard the Challenger (STS-41-C) as pilot in April 1984. The mission lasted almost 7 days.
Michael J. Smith, born April 30, 1945 in Beaumont, North Carolina, was pilot for the ill-fated Challenger mission (STS-51-L) when it exploded 73 seconds after take-off in January 1986.
He had previously flown combat missions in the Vietnam War as a pilot for the US Navy.
Judith Resnik, born April 5, 1949 in Akron, Ohio, was a veteran of two space shuttle flights. She was the second US woman in space and the first Jewish astronaut ever.
Her first flight was on Discovery (STS-41-D) as mission specialist August-September 1984. It was the first flight of the Discovery.
Her second flight was aboard Challenger (STS-51-L) as mission specialist on January 28, 1984. Unfortunately, Resnik and the rest of the crew were lost when Challenger exploded shortly after lift-off.
Ellison Onizuka, born June 24, 1946 in Kealakekua, Hawai'i, made a trip into space, but was killed aboard the space shuttle Challenger when it was destroyed upon launch in January 1986. He was the first Asian-American astronaut and the first of Japanese ancestry to go into space.
His first mission was as mission specialist aboard Discovery (STS-51-C) in January 1985. He spent 3 days in space.
He was aboard Challenger (STS-51-L) a year later and passed away during its destruction.
Front row (L-R): Michael J. Smith, Francis "Dick" Scobee, Ronald McNair.
STS-51-L Mission patch
Space Shuttle Challenger (STS-51-L), launched January 28, 1986, exploded 73 seconds after launch. The cause of the disaster was determined to have been a failure of an O-ring seal on the starboard Solid Rocket Booster. The disaster grounded the space shuttle program for 32 months. Its crew consisted of Commander Francis Scobee, Pilot Michael Smith, Ellison Onizuka, Judith Resnick, Ronald McNair, Gregory Jarvis and Christa McAuliffe. All crew perished in the disaster.
