Ellison Onizuka
American astronaut from Kealakekua, Kona, Hawaii, first Asian American to reach space, later died in the Space Shuttle Challenger accident
Ellison Shoji Onizuka (Japanese: エリソン・ショージ・オニヅカ, 鬼塚 承次, Hepburn: Onizuka Shōji; June 24, 1946 – January 28, 1986) 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.
Early life
Onizuka was born on June 24, 1946, to Japanese American parents Masamitsu and Mitsue Onizuka. He was a Buddhist. Onizuka had two older sisters, Shirley and Norma, and a younger brother, Claude, who became the family spokesman after the Challenger disaster. Growing up, Onizuka was an active participant in FFA, 4-H, and the Boy Scouts of America, where he reached the level of Eagle Scout.
Onizuka graduated from Konawaena High School in 1964. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering in June 1969 and a Master of Science degree in that field the following December from the University of Colorado Boulder. Onizuka participated in the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps during his time there and is an alumnus of Triangle Fraternity, the AFROTC Arnold Air Society, as well as a member of the Tau Beta Pi honor society.
Onizuka married Lorna Leiko Yoshida on June 7, 1969, while completing his studies at the University of Colorado. They had two daughters, Janelle Onizuka-Gillilan (b.
“Ellison Onizuka” enters the record as american astronaut from Kealakekua, Kona, Hawaii, first Asian American to reach space, later died in the Space Shuttle Challenger accident. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Ellison, Onizuka and American can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 22, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q349365. VIAF identifies the subject as 252979092. The Library of Congress control number is n86105656. 2 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1946, 1986, 1964 and 1969.
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This entry incorporates text from “Ellison Onizuka” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.