978. She was in the first cadre containing women and went into the training program for shuttle mission specialists. Resnik was the second woman in space on September 5, 1984. Afterward, she started training for the Challenger STS-51-L, her second flight.
             The second specialist was Ronald McNair. He was the father of two children, a blackbelt in karate, a fitness advocate, and a physicist. McNair earned a B.S. degree physics from North Carolina A&T University. Later, he specialized in quantum electronics and laser technology and completed his Ph. D. from MIT. The research on electro-optic laser modulation for satellite to satellite space communications allowed McNair to have close contact with the space program. He was selected by NASA in 1978. He became the secon
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