Ellison Onizuka
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Ellison Shoji Onizuka (June 24, 1946 - January 28, 1986) was an American astronaut from Kealakekua, Kona, Hawai'i who died during the explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger, where he was serving as mission specialist on mission STS-51-L.
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Early life
Ellison Onizuka was the oldest son and second youngest child of the late Masamitsu and Mitsue Onizuka's children. He had two older sisters, Shirley and Norma, and a younger brother, Claude. Claude became the family spokesman when Ellison attained fame as an astronaut and continued after the Challenger accident. Growing up Ellison was an active participant in 4-H and Boy Scouts, where he reached the level of Eagle Scout.
He graduated from Konawaena High School in Kealakekua in 1964. He received a Bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering in June 1969, and a Master's in that field in December of the same year, from the University of Colorado. He participated in Air Force ROTC during his time there.
Onizuka married Lorna Leiko Yoshida while completing his studies at the University of Colorado. They had two daughters, Janelle Mitsue (b. 1968) and Darien Lei Shizue (b. 1975).
Air Force career
In January 1970, Onizuka entered active duty with the United States Air Force, where he served as a flight test engineer and as a test pilot. At the Sacramento Air Logistics Center at McClellan Air Force Base, he worked in test flight programs and systems security engineering for the F-84, F-100, F-105, F-111, EC-121T, T-33, T-39, T-28, and A-1.
From August 1974 to July 1975, Onizuka attended the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School. In July 1975, he was assigned to the Test Flight Center at Edwards Air Force Base in California. He became a squadron test flight engineer at the Test Pilot School, and later worked as a manager for engineering support in the training resources division. His duties there were based on the instruction of courses and the management of all flight test modifications for all of the airship fleet (A-7, A-37, T-38, F-4, T-33, and NKC-135) being used for the Test Pilot School and Test Flight Center. Onizuka managed to register more than 1,700 flight hours.
NASA career
Onizuka was selected for the astronaut program in January 1978, and completed one year of evaluation and training in August 1979. Later, he worked in the experimentation team, Orbiter test team, and launch support crew at the Kennedy Space Center for the STS-1 and STS-2. At NASA, he worked on the Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory (SAIL) test and revision software team. He also collaborated on other technical projects, for instance, as astronaut crew team coordinator.
His first space mission took place on January 24, 1985, with the Kennedy Space Center launch of mission STS 51-C on Space Shuttle Discovery, the first space shuttle mission for the Department of Defense. Onizuka was accompanied by the commander Ken Mattingly, pilot Loren Shriver, fellow mission specialist James Buchli, and payload specialist Gary E. Payton. During the mission, Onizuka was responsible for the activities of the primary payloads, which included the unfolding of the Inertial Upper Stage (IUS) surface. After 48 orbits around the Earth, Discovery landed at the Kennedy Space Center on January 27, 1985. Onizuka had completed a total of 74 hours in space.
Onizuka was assigned to the mission STS 51-L on the Space Shuttle Challenger that took off from Kennedy Space Center at 11:38:00 EST (16:38:00 UTC) on January 28, 1986. The other Challenger crew members were commander Dick Scobee, pilot Michael Smith, mission specialists Ronald McNair, Judith Resnik, and Gregory Jarvis, and payload specialist Christa McAuliffe. The challenger exploded at 73 seconds after launch. All seven crew members were killed. NASA had estimated that the probability of a catastrophic accident during launch, the most perilous portion of space flight, was 1 in 438.
At the time of his death, Onizuka held the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.
Memberships and distinctions
Onizuka belonged to the following organizations: Society of Flight Test Engineers, the Air Force Association, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Tau Beta Pi, Sigma Tau, and Triangle Fraternity.
Among his distinctions are the Air Force Medallion of Merit, Air Force Service Medallion, Air Force Organizational Excellence Award, and National Defense Service Medal.
Legacy
Onizuka Air Force Station in Sunnyvale, California, Onizuka Center for International Astronomy at the Mauna Kea Observatory and the Astronaut Ellison S. Onizuka Space Center at Kona International Airport in Hawaii are named after him. Also named in his honor in fiction is a shuttle in Star Trek: The Next Generation, carried aboard USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D.
Two astronomical features were also named after him: an asteroid discovered by Edward L. G. Bowell on February 8, 1984, 3355 Onizuka and a 29 km diameter crater on the moon, Onizuka Crater. Little Tokyo in Los Angeles, California also has a street named after him.
The main protagonist of the manga Great Teacher Onizuka also bears a similar name - Eikichi Onizuka. It is likely that Eikichi's ability to withstand most degrees of physical injury may have been inspired by Ellison's legacy.
External links
- Official NASA Bio
- Challenger Center bio
- Mauna Kea visitor information station
- Astronaut Memorial Foundation website
References
- This article draws heavily on the corresponding article in the Spanish-language Wikipedia, which was accessed in the version of July 8, 2005.
