Famous Passengers Aboard Space Shuttle Discovery

Kathryn D. Sullivan (left) became the first woman to walk in space on October 11, 1984. During her spacewalk, Sullivan worked in the payload bay of the Space Shuttle Challenger.

Bernard A. Harris Jr. (right) became the first African American to walk in space during mission STS-63. The walk lasted 4 hours, 38 minutes.

A U.S. Marine Corp aviator, engineer, astronaut, and Senator, John H. Glenn Jr. had a remarkable career. Among his many accolades, Glenn became the oldest person to travel to space and the only person to fly in both the Mercury and Space Shuttle program.

Glenn’s return to space was aboard Discovery on October 29, 1998.

Charles Walker, a McDonnell Douglas engineer, was the first corporate crewmember to go to space. He flew on Discovery’s first flight in 1984, and two other shuttle missions in 1985.

Eileen Collins was the first woman to pilot a Space Shuttle and the first woman to serve as a mission commander, all aboard Discovery.

Ellison Onizuka became the first Asian American in space in 1985, aboard Discovery’s third flight. Onizuka joined the astronaut ranks in 1978, in the same class as Sally Ride, the first American woman in space, and Guion Bluford, the first African American in space. Sadly, Onizuka died in the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster in 1986.

In 1985, Saudi Arabia’s Sultan bin Salman Al Saud flew as payload specialist aboard Discovery’s STS-51G mission, becoming both the first Arab and first Muslim in space. He was one of a seven member international crew, which also included American and French astronauts.