Judith Resnik

Infobox Astronaut
name mitchel flannigan |

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type =NASA astronaut | status =Killed during mission
nationality =American
date_birth =April 5, 1949
date_death =January 28, 1986 (aged 36)
place_birth =Akron, Ohio
place_death =Cape Canaveral, Florida
occupation =Engineer
selection =1978 NASA Group
time =6d 00h 56m
mission =STS-41-D, STS-51-L
insignia =|

Judith Arlene Resnik (April 5, 1949 – January 28, 1986) was an American engineer and a NASA astronaut who died in the destruction of the Space Shuttle "Challenger" during the launch of mission STS-51-L.

Life

Resnik was born in Akron, Ohio and attended Hebrew school. Judith A. Resnik has one brother, Charles, four years younger. Her parents were Marvin, an optometrist, and Sara Resnik. A graduate of Firestone High School, she excelled in math and played classical piano. While at Firestone, she achieved a perfect SAT score and was the lone female to do so that year. She received a B.S. in electrical engineering from Pittsburgh's Carnegie Mellon University in 1970, the year she married fellow student Michael Oldak. They divorced in 1974 because Michael wanted children; Judith wanted to focus on her career. Resnik then earned a Ph.D. in electrical engineering in 1977 at the University of Maryland. After graduation from Carnegie Mellon, she was employed at RCA as a design engineer, and later worked with various NASA projects contracted to the company.

While working toward her doctorate, Resnik was affiliated with the National Institutes of Health as a biomedical engineer. Later, she was a systems engineer with Xerox Corporation.

Astronaut

Resnik was selected for the astronaut program in January 1978, serving as a mission specialist on the maiden voyage of "Discovery", from August to September 1984. She was likewise a mission specialist aboard "Challenger" for STS-51-L. [cite web|url=http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/resnik.html |title=Biographical Data - Judith A. Resnick|month=December | year=2003|publisher=National Aeronautics and Space Administration] [cite web|url=http://www.challenger.org/about/resnik.cfm |title=The 51-L Crew: Judy Resnick|publisher=The Challenger Center] [cite web|url=http://www.nasa.gov/centers/glenn/about/memorial.html |title=Remarks of Senator John Glenn, Memorial Service For Judith Resnik|date=1986-02-03|publisher= National Aeronautics and Space Administration]

Legacy

Resnik crater, located within the Apollo impact basin on the far side of the Moon, was named in her honor.

A dormitory at Carnegie Mellon is named in her honor and there is a statue commemorating her on the grounds. The school library at Firestone High School, Resnik's high school "alma mater", was also named after her.

Fairlawn Elementary School, a school that she attended in her hometown of Akron, was renamed to Judith A. Resnik Community Learning Center when it reopened in December 2006. There is also an elementary school in Gaithersburg, Maryland named in her honor, having been opened in 1992. Judy Resnik Drive, a street in Randolph, NJ was also named after Resnik.

Resnik was portrayed by Julie Fulton in the 1990 TV movie "Challenger".

References

External links

* [http://web.archive.org/web/20070606223433/http://www.judith-resnik.info/resnik.htm Archive.org Cache of] [http://www.judith-resnik.info/resnik.htm Judith Resnik reference site (dead)]
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