January 28 1986 – 18 Shevat 5746
Seventy-three seconds after liftoff from Cape Canaveral, the Challenger space shuttle exploded, killing all seven crew members, including Dr. Judith Resnik, the first female American Jewish astronaut. An electrical engineer, Resnik joined nasa in 1978 and served as mission specialist on Discovery’s maiden voyage in 1984. Among other tributes to this second American woman in space, a lunar crater was named for her in 1988.