January 28th, 2016 marks the 30 year anniversary since the Challenger explosion. Watch WTXL ABC 27 every night at 6pm as we profile the crew of the Space Shuttle Challenger. Tune in on January 28th for a special coverage of Lessons Learned from Challenger.
TALLAHASSEE, FL (WTXL) -- Judith A. Resnik was not only a crew member on Challenger, she was also the second American woman in space behind Sally Ride.
In Akron, Ohio where Resnik grew up, there's a school named in her honor.
Akron public school leaders say it's located where her grade school, Fairlawn Elementary, used to be. The people there know her as a hometown hero. School children even paid tribute to her in 2015 with a school play and song about her life.
On August 30th, 1984, Resnik was on the first flight of the space shuttle Discovery that launched from the Kennedy Space Center.
The spacecraft orbited the earth 96 times before landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California on September 5, 1984.
Resnik received a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Carnegie-Mellon University in 1970, and a doctorate in Electrical Engineering from the University of Maryland in 1977.
Space pioneer Judith Resnik paved the way for those who dream big.
WTXL ABC 27 and the Challenger Learning Center honor Judith A. Resnik and will forever remember her contribution to the exploration of space.
