Ellison S. Onizuka

Ellison S. Onizuka was the first Hawaiian astronaut on Space Shuttle flights. While his ancestors lived in a town in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan, he was born on Hawai'i and grew up in Kona on Big Island, Hawai'i. These photos from NASA's archives show him as a mission specialist on STS 51-C.

He died in 1985 on his second flight as a mission specialist on STS 51-L in the Challenger accident.

If you are on Kailua-Kona airport on Big Island, Hawai'i, you should visit the museum that was established as a memorial site for Ellison S. Onizuka.