Group 8 (1978)
Ronald McNair
Laser physicist, black belt, and the second African American in space.
Ronald McNair grew up in segregated South Carolina — once refusing to leave a whites-only library as a nine-year-old — and earned a physics doctorate from MIT in laser research. In 1984 he became the second African American in space, aboard Challenger.
A saxophonist and karate black belt, McNair had planned to record the first original music performed in orbit on STS-51-L. He was 35 when the mission was lost. The McNair Scholars program now supports first-generation college students nationwide.