Ronald McNair
Ronald Erwin McNair was an American physicist, laser researcher, saxophonist, and NASA astronaut. Selected with NASA Astronaut Group 8 in 1978, he became the second African American to fly in space and later died during the Challenger accident.
- Born
- October 21, 1950
- Died
- January 28, 1986
- Birthplace
- Lake City, South Carolina,United States
Flights
1
Spacewalks
0
EVA time
N/A
In space
7 days, 23 hours, 15 minutes
Bio
McNair grew up in Lake City, South Carolina, and built a path through physics, mathematics, and laser research. He earned a doctorate from MIT and worked at Hughes Research Laboratories before NASA selected him as a candidate.
His first spaceflight was STS-41-B in 1984 aboard Challenger. McNair served as mission specialist during a flight that included the first untethered MMU by Bruce McCandless and Robert Stewart.
McNair was assigned to STS-51-L, the Challenger mission launched on January 28, 1986. He and the six other crew members died when Challenger broke apart shortly after liftoff.
His legacy extends beyond his flight record. McNair is remembered as a scientist, musician, educator, and one of the astronauts whose loss reshaped NASA's safety culture after Challenger.