Ellison Onizuka

Ellison Shoji Onizuka (June 24, 1946 - January 28, 1986) was an American astronaut from Kealakekua, Kona, Hawai'i who died during the explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger, where he was serving as mission specialist on mission STS-51-L.

NASA career

Onizuka was selected for the astronaut program in January 1978, and completed one year of evaluation and training in August 1979. Later, he worked in the experimentation team, Orbiter test team, and launch support crew at the Kennedy Space Center for the STS-1 and STS-2. At NASA, he worked on the Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory (SAIL) test and revision software team. He also collaborated on other technical projects, for instance, as astronaut crew team coordinator.

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His first space mission took place on January 24, 1985, with the Kennedy Space Center launch of mission STS 51-C on Space Shuttle Discovery, the first space shuttle mission for the Department of Defense. Onizuka was accompanied by the commander Ken Mattingly, pilot Loren Shriver, fellow mission specialist James Buchli, and payload specialist Gary E. Payton. During the mission, Onizuka was responsible for the activities of the primary payloads, which included the unfolding of the Inertial Upper Stage (IUS) surface. After 48 orbits around the Earth, Discovery landed at the Kennedy Space Center on January 27, 1985. Onizuka had completed a total of 74 hours in space.

Related Topics:
January 24 - 1985 - STS 51-C - Space Shuttle Discovery - Department of Defense - Ken Mattingly - Loren Shriver - James Buchli - Gary E. Payton - January 27

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Onizuka was assigned to the mission STS 51-L on the Space Shuttle Challenger that took off from Kennedy Space Center at 11:38:00 EST (16:38:00 UTC) on January 28, 1986. The other Challenger crew members were commander Dick Scobee, pilot Michael Smith, mission specialists Ronald McNair, Judith Resnik, and Gregory Jarvis, and payload specialist Christa McAuliffe. The challenger exploded at 73 seconds after launch. All seven crew members were killed. NASA had estimated that the probability of a catastrophic accident during launch, the most perilous portion of space flight, was 1 in 438.

Related Topics:
STS 51-L - Space Shuttle Challenger - January 28 - 1986 - Dick Scobee - Michael Smith - Ronald McNair - Judith Resnik - Gregory Jarvis - Christa McAuliffe

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At the time of his death, Onizuka held the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

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