Ellison S. Onizuka
Ellison Shoji Onizuka was an American aerospace engineer, United States Air Force officer, test pilot, and NASA astronaut. He was the first Asian American and first person of Japanese ancestry to fly in space.
Personal
- Born
- June 24, 1946
- Died
- January 28, 1986
- Birthplace
- Kailua-Kona, Hawaii,United States
Selections
Flights
2
Spacewalks
0
EVA time
N/A
In space
3 days, 1 hour, 33 minutes
Quick Glance
Flights2 flightsLaunches: STS-51C, STS-51-L.
Time in space3 days, 1 hour, 33 minutesTotal logged time across listed flights and station assignments.
AgencyNASAAgency or program attribution from the profile record.SelectionNASA Astronaut Group 8Selection group or program listed in the archive record.
Station Missions
No station missionsNo station mission assignments are listed for this astronaut.
Bio
Onizuka earned bachelor's and master's degrees in aerospace engineering from the University of Colorado Boulder. His Air Force career included flight-test engineering and test-pilot work before NASA selected him in 1978.
He flew STS-51-C, the first dedicated Department of Defense shuttle mission, and was assigned to STS-51-L aboard Challenger. STS-51-L ended in the Challenger accident on January 28, 1986. His record now includes STS-51-L instead of stopping at STS-51-C.