Born on October 21,
1950 in Lake City, South Carolina, Ronald E. McNair was the son of Carl C. McNair,
Sr., and Pearl M. McNair. He achieved early success in the segregated public
schools he attended as both a student and an athlete. Valedictorian of his high
school class, he attended North Carolina A&T State University where, in 1971,
he received a B.S. degree in physics. He went on to study physics at MIT, where
he specialized in quantum electronics and laser technology, completing his Ph.D.
in 1977. As a student he performed some of the earliest work on chemical HF/DF
and high pressure CO lasers, publishing pathbreaking scientific papers on the
subject. McNair was also a physical fitness advocate and pursued athletic training
from an early age. He was a leader in track and football at his high school.
He also became a black belt in karate, and while in graduate school began offering
classes in karate at St. Paul's AME Church in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He also
participated in several karate tournaments, taking more than 30 trophies in
these competitions. While involved in these activities McNair met and married
Cheryl B. Moore of Brooklyn, New York, and they later had two children. After
completing his Ph.D. he began working as a physicist at the Optical Physics
Department of Hughes Research Laboratories in Malibu, California, and conducted
research on electro-optic laser modulation for satellite-to-satellite space
communications. This research led McNair into close contact with the NASA space
program for the first time, and when the opportunity presented itself he applied
for astronaut training. In January 1978 NASA selected him to enter the astronaut
cadre, one of the first three Black Americans selected. McNair became the second
Black American in space between Febrary 3 and 11, 1984, by flying on the Challenger
Shuttle mission STS-41-B. During this mission McNair operated the maneuverable
arm, built by Canada, used to move payloads in space. The 1986 Challenger STS-51-L
mission on which he was killed was his second Shuttle flight.
In January of 1986, members of the U.S. Congress provided funding for the McNair Program to encourage students with similar backgrounds to Dr. McNair's to enroll in graduate studies. The program targets students of color, low-income students, and first-generation college students. There are 156 programs nationwide dedicated to the high standards of achievement inspired by Dr. McNair's life.
To learn more about
Dr. McNair and the other members of the space shuttle Challenger, visit the
NASA web-site by clicking on the Challenger STS-51-L mission patch.
Also
on board the Challenger STS-51-L that fateful day in 1986 was University of
Colorado alum Ellison Onizuka. Visit the CU Engineering Center's web-site dedicated
to Onizuka by clicking on his picture to the left.
Below is a
photograph of the entire crew of the Challenger STS-51-L: Francis R. (Dick)
Scobee (commander), Michael J. Smith (pilot), Judith A. Resnik (mission specialist),
Gregory B. Jarvis (payload specialist), Sharon Christa McAuliffe (educator),
along with Ronald E. McNair and Ellison Onizuka, both mission specialists.
