Go4Liftoff - Ellison Onizuka

Ellison Onizuka

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Nationality American

Date Of Birth 1946-06-24

Deceased 1986-01-28

Status Lost In Flight

Type Government

Agency

Astronaut Biography

Ellison Shoji Onizuka (鬼塚承次 Onizuka Shōji) was an American astronaut 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. He was the first Asian American and the first person of Japanese ancestry to reach space.