Judith Resnik would have been 68 today. If you don’t remember her, someone in your family surely does. Resnik was an engineer and astronaut who tragically perished in the Challenger explosion in 1986, a generation-defining moment of horror. But she was the first Jewish American in space and a popular, playful figure as well as a brilliant scientific pioneer.
Watch Kveller’s video about Resnik’s inspiring life below, in honor of her birthday, and discover some facts you might not have known about the astronaut:
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Sarah Seltzer, former editor for Kveller, is a writer and editor in New York City. She is a journalist covering culture, activism and gender, most recently as Deputy Editor at culture website Flavorwire.com. Her print and online work has appeared in publications including Poets & Writers, The Forward, Lilith, The Washington Post, Ms. Magazine, The New York Times, Salon, The Nation, The Wall Street Journal, Jezebel, The Hairpin, Refinery29, The Toast, Rolling Stone, and many more. She is a graduate of Harvard University, where she edited The Crimson’s weekend magazine, as well as the MFA in writing program at Vermont College of Fine Arts. Her first baby, Mikey, is growing up way too fast and she can objectively report that he is very cute. You can follow her at @sarahmseltzer and reach her at sarah@kveller.com.
