Judith Resnik and Discovery Crew photographs   Save
Judith Resnik Collection
Description: Two photographs, taken on board the space shuttle Discovery during its seven-day mission in 1984, include Akron native Judith Resnik. The first photograph is a group shot of the six crew members, shown (counterclockwise from center): Crew Commander Henry N. Hartsfield Jr., Pilot Michael L. Coats, Mission Specialists Steven A. Hawley and Judith A. Resnik, Payload Specialist Charles D. Walker, and Mission Specialist Richard N. "Nike" Mullane. A second photograph shows Resnik on the flight deck of the Discovery looking out toward the mid-deck. Both photographs measure 8" x 10" (20.32 x 25.4 cm). Resnik (1949-1986) was born in Akron and graduated from Firestone High School. She earned a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering from Carnegie-Mellon University in 1970, and a doctorate in electrical engineering from the University of Maryland in 1977. She began working at RCA as a design engineer in 1971 and was a biomedical engineer and staff fellow in the Laboratory of Neurophysiology at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, from 1974 to 1977. She was selected as an astronaut candidate by NASA in 1978. During her first mission in space, Resnik and the crew of the Discovery became known as "Icebusters" by successfully removing hazardous ice particles from the orbiter using the Remote Manipulator System. Resnik was killed during her second mission on January 28, 1986 when the space shuttle Challenger exploded shortly after liftoff. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: Om3110_3671706_007
Subjects: Transportation; Science and Technology; Ohio Women; Flight; Aeronautics; Astronauts; Space flight; Flight crews; Resnik, Judith, 1949-1986; Discovery (Spacecraft); Challenger (Spacecraft)
Places: Akron (Ohio); Summit County (Ohio)