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Cosmonaut / Astronaut · National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Judith Resnik

Mission Specialist on STS-51-L, an electrical engineer and the second American woman in space.
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Portrait of mission specialist Judith Resnik.
Born
5 Apr 1949
Died
28 Jan 1986
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1

Biography

Born 5 April 1949 in Akron, Ohio. She earned a degree in electrical engineering and a PhD from the University of Maryland. In 1984, on the maiden flight of the orbiter Discovery (STS-41-D), she became the second American woman in space and the first Jewish-American in space. On Challenger's STS-51-L she flew her second and final mission.

Missions

Spaceflights

Official STS-51-L mission patch with the names of the seven crew members.

28 January 1986

STS-51-L

STS-51-L was the twenty-fifth mission of the Space Shuttle program. On 28 January 1986, 73 seconds after launch, the orbiter Challenger broke apart when a frost-embrittled O-ring in its right solid rocket booster failed — the entire seven-member crew died, including teacher Christa McAuliffe.

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Timeline

Career at a glance

  1. 1949Born5 April 1949
  2. 1986STS-51-L28 January 1986
  3. 1986Died28 January 1986

Crews

Flew together

Dick ScobeeCosmonaut / AstronautDick ScobeeSTS-51-LMichael J. SmithCosmonaut / AstronautMichael J. SmithSTS-51-LEllison OnizukaCosmonaut / AstronautEllison OnizukaSTS-51-LRonald McNairCosmonaut / AstronautRonald McNairSTS-51-LChrista McAuliffeCosmonaut / AstronautChrista McAuliffeSTS-51-LGregory JarvisCosmonaut / AstronautGregory JarvisSTS-51-L
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