Ellison Onizuka - Wikipedia

Thank you, my friend Maj Marty Hogan for making us aware that June 24 is the anniversary of the birth of American astronaut and engineer from Kealakekua, Hawaii Ellison Shoji Onizuka who successfully flew into space with the Space Shuttle Discovery on STS-51-C.
Sadly he died in the destruction of the Space Shuttle Challenger, on which he was serving as Mission Specialist for mission STS-51-L.

Ellison Onizuka, Astronaut
"Ellison Shoji Onizuka (June 24, 1946 – January 28, 1986) was an American astronaut from Kealakekua, Kona, 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. He was the first Asian American to reach space, and the first person of Japanese ancestry to reach space."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tr_QNrcZVrg

Images:
1. The crew assigned to the STS-51C mission included (kneeling in front left to right) Loren J. Schriver, pilot; and Thomas K. Mattingly, II, commander. Standing, left to right, are Gary E. Payton, payload specialist; and mission specialists James F. Buchli, and Ellison L. Onizuka. Launched aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery on January 24, 1985 at 2:50:00 pm (EST), the STS-51C was the first mission dedicated to the Department of Defense (DOD). NASA
2. Ellison Onizuka (left) in flight with Loren Shriver, during his first shuttle mission. NASA
3. Crew of Space Shuttle Challenger X (L-R front row) astronauts Smith, Scobee, McNair & (L-R rear) Onizuka, payload specialist/teacher McAuliffe, payload spec. Jarvis & astronaut Resnik, Johnson Space Center. The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images / Getty Images
4. Ellison Onizuka's soccer ball, retrieved after the Challenger disaster, flies aboard the International Space Station during Expedition 49. NASA

Background from
"When the space shuttle Challenger exploded on January 28, 1986, the tragedy took the lives of seven astronauts. Among them was Col. Ellison Onizuka, an Air Force veteran and Nasa astronaut who became the first Asian-American to fly to space.


Fast Facts: Ellison Onizuka
Born: June 24, 1946 in Kaelakekua, Kona, Hawaii
Died: January 28, 1986 in Cape Canaveral, Florida
Parents: Masamitsu and Mitsue Onizuka
Spouse: Lorna Leiko Yoshida (m. 1969)
Children: Janelle Onizuka-Gillilan, Darien Lei Shuzue Onizuka-Morgan
Education: Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Colorado
Career: Air Force pilot, NASA Astronaut
Famous Quote: "Your vision is not limited by what your eyes can see, but by what your mind can imagine. Many things that you take for granted were considered unrealistic dreams by previous generations. If you accept these past accomplishments as commonplace then think of the new horizons that you can explore. From your vantage point, your education and imagination will carry you to places which we won’t believe possible. Make your life count—and the world will be a better place because you tried." On the wall of the Hawai'i Challenger Center.
Early Life
Ellison Onizuka was born under the name Onizuka Shoji in Kaleakekua, near Kona, on the Big Island of Hawai'i, on June 24, 1946. His parents were Masamitsu and Mitsue Onizuka. He grew up with two sisters and a brother, and was a member of Future Farmers of America and the Boy Scouts. He attended Konawaena High School and often talked about how he would dream about flying out to the stars that he could see from his home on the island.


Education
Onizuka left Hawai'i to study engineering at the University of Colorado, receiving a bachelor's degree in June 1969 and a master's degree a few months later. That same year he also married Lorna Leiko Yoshida. The Onizukas had two daughters: Janelle Onizuka-Gillilan and Darien Lei Shizue Onizuka-Morgan.
After graduation, Onizuka joined the United States Air Force and served as a flight test engineer and test pilot. He also focused on systems security engineering for a number of different jets. During his flying career, Onizuka gained more than 1,700 flight hours. While in the Air Force, he trained at the Flight Test Center at Edwards Air Force Base in California. While racking up flying time and testing jets for the Air Force, he also worked on systems for a number of experimental military aircraft.

Onizuka's NASA Career
Ellison Onizuka was selected as a NASA astronaut in 1978 and left the Air Force with a rank of lieutenant colonel. At NASA, he worked on the shuttle avionics integration laboratory team, mission support, and, while in space, managing payloads on orbit. He took his first flight on STS 51-C aboard the shuttle Discovery in 1985. It was a top-secret flight to launch a payload from the Department of Defense, the first classified mission for the orbiters. That flight also heralded another "first" by making Onizuka the first Asian-American to fly in space. The flight lasted for 48 orbits, giving Onizuka 74 hours on orbit.

Onizuka's Final Mission
His next assignment was on STS 51-L, set to launch Challenger into orbit in January 1986. For that flight, Onizuka was assigned mission specialist duties. He was joined by teacher-in-space selectee Christa McAuliffe, Gregory Jarvis, Ronald McNair, Michael J. Smith, Judith Resnik, and Dick Scobee. It would have been his second flight to space. Unfortunately, Col. Onizuka perished along with his crewmates when the spacecraft was destroyed during an explosion 73 seconds after launch.

Honors and Legacy
Most people at NASA who worked with him remember Colonel Onizuka as an explorer. He was a man with a great sense of humor, and someone who often encouraged people, particularly young students to use their imagination and intellect as they pursued their careers. During his short career, he was awarded the Air Force Commendation Medal, Air Force Outstanding Unit Award, and the National Defense Service Medal. After his death, Col. Onizuka was honored in a variety of ways, including the Congressional Space Medal of Honor. He was raised to the rank of Colonel in the Air Force, an honor given to those who lose their lives in service.

Col. Onizuka is buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu. His accomplishments have been memorialized on buildings, streets, an asteroid, a Star Trek shuttlecraft, and other science and engineering-related buildings. Various institutions, including the Gemini Observatories and other facilities in Hawai'i, hold annual Ellison Onizuka days for engineering and science symposia. The Challenger Center Hawai'i maintains a salute to his service to his country and to NASA. One of two airports on the Big Island is named for him: the Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport at Keahole.

Astronomers also recognize his service with the Onizuka Center for International Astronomy. It's a support center at the base of Mauna Kea, where a number of the world's best observatories are located. Visitors to the center are told his story, and a plaque dedicated to him is mounted on a rock where everyone can see it as they enter the station.

Onizuka was a popular speaker, and returned several times to his alma mater in Boulder, Colorado, to speak to students about becoming an astronaut. "

FYI LTC Wayne Brandon LTC (Join to see) Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. Maj Robert Thornton CPT Scott Sharon SSG William Jones SSG Donald H "Don" Bates PO3 William Hetrick PO3 Lynn Spalding SPC Mark Huddleston SGT Rick Colburn CPL Dave Hoover SPC Margaret Higgins SSgt Brian Brakke SP5 Jeannie Carle SCPO Morris Ramsey Sgt Albert Castro

Great birthday post.

That was one of those situations (disasters) when we all remember where we were when we heard the awful news...