Historical Figure
Ellison Onizuka
d. 1986
American astronaut and engineer (1946–1986)
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Key Dates
Death
1986 January 28, 1986 →Biography
Ellison Shoji Onizuka was an American astronaut, engineer, and U.S. Air Force flight test engineer from Kealakekua, Hawaii, who successfully flew into space with the Space Shuttle Discovery on STS-51-C. He died in the destruction of the Space Shuttle Challenger, on which he was serving as Mission Specialist for mission STS-51-L. Onizuka was the first Asian American and the first person of Japanese ancestry to reach space.
Timeline
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