It’s appropriate that a forthcoming book about Judith Resnik is aimed at young people: The Akron astronaut was a major proponent of getting students, especially women, into science.
“I think some of the best years of your lives are when you’re a student and trying to prepare yourselves for what you want to do in the future,” she said during a 1984 speech at the Akron Roundtable.
Less than two years later, she was among the seven crew members killed when the space shuttle Challenger broke apart after liftoff. “Judith Resnik: Unsung Astronaut” delves into her upbringing and complex personal life as well as her accomplishments in engineering and the space program. She was the second U.S. woman astronaut in space.
“(That) got under my skin that she should be unknown because of being number two,” said author Marlene Targ Brill. “She was up for being the first … which didn't seem to bother her that much. She just wanted more women in space.”
Brill, based in Illinois, is a former educator who has written dozens of books. The Resnik biography is her third work for the Ohio University Press. Throughout her research, she found Resnik’s academic gifts flowered despite personal challenges.
“Her parents wound up divorcing when she was about 16 years old,” Brill said. “Since the father and Judith were the closest, her mother kind of took everything out on her and was very controlling. So, Judith … wound up suing her mother to get guardianship changed from her mother to her father.”
Brill said Resnik’s brother declined to be interviewed for the book, but she was able to scour archival interviews and connect with other friends and family.
“All through school, it didn't bother her that she was in math club and she was the only female, that she was in classes and she'd be the top scorer,” Brill said. “She also wanted to have balance in her life. She wanted to be a regular kid. She wanted to go partying. She wanted to date, which her mother wasn't appreciative of.”
Resnik chose her college major after attending electrical engineering lectures with her future husband, Michael Oldak. Following their divorce in the mid-1970s, NASA began recruiting women. Resnik obtained her pilot’s license and was eventually selected as one of six female astronauts. In June 1984, she made it into orbit on the maiden voyage of the space shuttle Discovery. The launch was delayed several times due to technical issues.
“She said … they were happy that they had this many checks and balances to make sure that it was safe when they went up,” Brill said.
The launch of the Challenger was also delayed before it finally took flight on January 28, 1986. Just 73 seconds after launch, the shuttle broke apart.
In the 40 years since her death, tributes to Judith Resnik include a scholarship in her name from the Akron Community Foundation. Her elementary school in Fairlawn was renamed in her honor. The book “Judith Resnik: Unsung Astronaut,” is set for release in June.
