WIKIARCHIVES.SPACE

Crewmembers of NASA's 41-D mission take a group shot displaying their fun moments in space aboard the orbiter Discovery. Crewmembers are (counter-clockwise from bottom center) crew commander Henry W. Harsfield Jr., pilot Michael L. Coats, mission specialist Steven A. Hawley, mission specialist Judith A. Resnik, payload specialist Charles D. Walker, and mission specialist Richard M. Mullane. Dr. Judith Resnik is shown enjoying the weightlessness of space during her first mission. Born on April 5, 1949 in Akron, Ohio, she received a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Carnegie-Mellon University in 1970, and a Doctorate in Electrical Engineering from University of Maryland in 1977. Dr. Resnik joined NASA in 1978 as a senior systems engineer in product development with Xerox Corporation at El Segundo, California. NASA later selected her as an astronaut candidate in January 1978; she completed a 1-year training and evaluation period in August 1979. Dr. Resnik died on January 28, 1986 on her second mission, during the failed launch of Challenger STS-51 L.