Judith Resnik
American astronaut
Quick Summary
Challenger disaster: crew
Crew of the Challenger 51-L mission: (back row, left to right) Ellison Onizuka, Christa McAuliffe, Gregory Jarvis, and Judith Resnik; (front row, left to right) Michael Smith, Francis (Dick) Scobee, Ronald McNair, November 1985.
Judith Resnik was an American astronaut and mission specialist who died in the Challenger disaster on January 28, 1986. She was one of seven crew members who perished when the space shuttle orbiter exploded 73 seconds after liftoff. Resnik's first spaceflight was on the STS-41B mission of the space shuttle Challenger in February 1984. She was assigned to the STS-51L mission, the flight that tragically ended in disaster, with the primary goal of launching a satellite and observing Halley's Comet.12
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