Ronald McNair


Ronald Erwin McNair was an American NASA astronaut and physicist. He [Space Shuttle Challenger (1990 film)|Challenger disaster|died] at the age of 35 during the launch of the Space Shuttle Challenger on mission STS-51-L, in which he was serving as one of three mission specialists in a crew of seven.
Prior to the Challenger disaster, McNair flew as a mission specialist on STS-41-B aboard Challenger from February 3 to 11, 1984, becoming the second African-American in space.

Background

Ronald Erwin McNair was born in Lake City, South Carolina, on October 21, 1950, to Carl C. McNair, an auto repairman, and his wife, a high school teacher named Pearl. Growing up alongside his older brother, Carl S., as well as his younger brother, Eric, McNair grew up in a low-income household, his home having lacked both electricity and running water. The family later moved into a better, though still poor-quality household following the death of McNair's grandfather. His older brother, writing in a posthumous biography about McNair, described how the family "covered the floor and furniture with pots and pans to catch the water dripping through the roof" when it rained.
In the summer of 1959, McNair refused to leave the segregated Lake City Public Library without being allowed to check out his books. After the police and his mother were called, McNair was allowed to borrow books from the library; the building that housed the library at the time is now named after him.
McNair attended Lake City Elementary School and Carver High School, where he graduated as valedictorian in 1967.
In 1971, McNair received a Bachelor of Science degree in physics, magna cum laude, from the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in Greensboro, North Carolina. At North Carolina A&T, he studied under professor Donald Edwards, who had established the physics curriculum at the university.
In 1976, McNair received a PhD degree in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology under the guidance of Michael Feld, becoming nationally recognized for his work in the field of laser physics. That same year, McNair won the AAU Karate gold medal. He would subsequently win five regional championships and earn a fifth-degree black belt in karate.
McNair received four honorary doctorates, as well as a score of fellowships and commendations. He became a staff physicist at the Hughes Research Lab in Malibu, California. McNair was also a member of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity.

Astronaut career

In 1978, McNair was selected as one of 35 applicants from a pool of 10,000 for the NASA astronaut program. He was one of several astronauts recruited by Nichelle Nichols as part of a NASA effort to increase the number of minority and female astronauts.
McNair flew as a mission specialist on STS-41-B aboard Challenger from February 3 to 11, 1984, becoming the second African American to fly in space.

''Challenger'' disaster

Following the STS-41-B mission, McNair was selected for STS-51-L as one of three mission specialists in a crew of seven. The mission launched on January 28, 1986. He and the other six crew members were killed when Challenger disintegrated nine miles above the Atlantic Ocean, 73 seconds after liftoff.
McNair was initially buried at Rest Lawn Memorial Park in Lake City, South Carolina. His remains were disinterred in 2004 and moved to Ronald E. McNair Memorial Park, located elsewhere in Lake City.

Music in space

McNair was an accomplished saxophonist and jazz enthusiast.
Before his last fateful space mission, McNair worked with French composer and performer Jean-Michel Jarre on a piece of music for Jarre's then-upcoming album Rendez-Vous. It was intended that McNair would record his saxophone solo on board the Challenger, which would have made McNair's solo the first original piece of music to have been recorded in space. However, the recording was never made, as the flight ended in the disaster and the deaths of its entire crew. The final track on Rendez-Vous, "Last Rendez-Vous," has the subtitle "Ron's Piece," and the liner notes include a dedication from Jarre: "Ron was so excited about the piece that he rehearsed it continuously until the last moment. May the memory of my friend the astronaut and the artist Ron McNair live on through this piece." McNair was supposed to have taken part in Jarre's Rendez-vous Houston concert through a live feed from the orbiting Shuttlecraft.

Public honors

McNair was posthumously awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor in 2004, along with all crew members lost in the Challenger and Columbia disasters.
A variety of public places, people and programs have been renamed in honor of McNair:

In popular culture

  • McNair was portrayed by Joe Morton in the 1990 TV movie Challenger.
  • The song "A Drop Of Water", recorded by Japanese jazz artist Keiko Matsui, with vocals by the late Carl Anderson, was written in tribute to McNair.
  • The Jean Michel Jarre track "Last Rendez-Vous" was re-titled "Ron's Piece" in his honor. McNair was originally due to record the track in space aboard Challenger, and then perform it via a live link up in Jarre's Rendez-vous Houston concert.
  • A 2009 children's book Ron's Big Mission, illustrated by Don Tate, recounts the story of nine-year-old McNair challenging the whites-only policy of his town's public library.
  • In a 2013 animated short film Eyes on the Stars, McNair's brother Carl McNair recounts Ronald McNair's childhood.
  • The third movement of Carlos Simon's 2023 wind quintet Giants is eponymously titled in dedication to Ronald McNair. This five-movement work invokes McNair and other Black American thinkers and creatives who have "influenced and identity as a composer offer a character study of music through their work".

Personal life

McNair was married to Cheryl McNair, and they had two children. Cheryl is a founding director of the Challenger Center, which focuses on space science education.