Name Tag, Space Shuttle Astronaut (Onizuka)

Among the items issued to astronauts are Velcro-backed name tags that can be attached to their flight suits and jackets. This name tag was a spare for Ellison S. (El) Onizuka, the first person of Asian-Pacific heritage to be selected into the astronaut corps. He flew as a mission specialist on the Space Shuttle in 1985 (Discovery, STS 51-C mission) and died in the Challenger launch accident in 1986 (STS 51-L mission) before reaching space a second time. Astronauts chose the version of their name on these tags; this one shows Onizuka's nickname El. NASA transferred a number of spare astronaut name tags to the Museum over the years.