Ellison Onizuka Status: Lost In Flight 6/24/1946 – 1/28/1986 Nationality: American Type: Government Agency: National Aeronautics and Space Administration Ellison Shoji Onizuka (鬼塚 承次 Onizuka Shōji) was an American astronaut from Kealakekua, Hawaii, who successfully flew into space with the Space Shuttle Discovery on STS-51-C. He died in the destruction of the Space Shuttle Challenger, on which he was serving as Mission Specialist for mission STS-51-L. He was the first Asian American and the first person of Japanese ancestry to reach space.