For Your Information

There Was A NASA Astronaut That Played Saxophone In Space

The title of the chapter isn't misleading, mainly because it is a fact that Ronald McNair also known as the second African American in space. However this is probably the first chapter I'll go on a detour to the point of which where he plays the Saxophone in space and even Harmonica. Because being an African American in the 50's and 60's were... let's say racy. (This was originally in a different story I was going to work on, which was more like a Biographic style story.)

""To make a dream come true, first you must dream..." - Ronald E. McNair

Back in 1959, a young Ronald McNair (9 years old) entered into a segrated library in Lake City, Carolina to get scientifc books. The young sponge-like mind of a child wanting to learn science and its mysteries, picked up several books and put them on the library counter to check them out. A Librarian, outraged that a young bold naive black child coming into a segrated library and happily putting books to check out called the police and his mother. Obviously, she (the library) had told him to leave before hand to which he stubbornly sat on the counter itself, as if saying "Please do." refusing to leave.

Surprising at the time, the cops were very kind. Whether it may be because they weren't as close minded or possibly it was such a trivial matter, they told the Librarian that she should just give the kid the books. The mother came around the same time, saw the books on the counter and obviously knowing her child wanting to learn science, she also pleaded with the Librarian to just let the boy check out the books. To which she hooed and hawed, finally but reluctently giving the child the books.

And apperenly his drive of learning kept with him through his teens and adulthood. He was good at just about everything he tried. He was an athlete, musician, karate champion, and even set a goal to get his Ph.D. 10 years after graduating high school. Which he did. McNair graduated as valedictorian of Carver High School in 1967, In 1971, he received a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering physics, magna cum laude, from the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in Greensboro, North Carolina. In 1976, he received a Ph.D. degree in Physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology under the guidance of Michael Feld, becoming nationally recognised for his work in the field of laser physics. After graduation from MIT; receiving four honorary doctorates, a score of fellowships and commendations while achieving a 6th-degree black belt in taekwondo. He became a staff physicist at the Huges Research Lab in Malibu California. (Could figure where to put this but McNair was a member of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity and a member of the Bahá'í Faith.)

In 1978, McNair was selected as one of thirty-five applicants from a pool of ten thousand for the NASA astronaut program. He flew as a mission specialist on STS-41-B aboard Challenger from February 3 to February 11, 1984, becoming the second African American to fly in space. Following the STS-41-B mission, McNair was selected for STS-51-L as one of three mission specialists in a crew of seven. The mission launched on January 28, 1986. He was killed when Challenger disintegrated nine miles above the Atlantic Ocean 73 seconds after liftoff. It was intended that he would record his saxophone solo onboard the Challenger, which would have made McNair's solo the first original piece of music to have been recorded in space. Although the song "Jingle Bells" had been played on a harmonica during an earlier Gemini 6 spaceflight. However, the recording was never made because of the Challenger disaster and the deaths of its entire crew.

After he died, the once segrated Lake City Library become Dr. Ronald E. McNair Life History Center, His brother, Carl also wrote the official biography, In the Spirit of Ronald E. McNair—Astronaut: An American Hero. Ronald E. McNair was initially buried at Rest Lawn Memorial Park in Lake City, South Carolina. His remains were disinterred in 2004 and moved to Ronald E. McNair Memorial Park, located elsewhere in Lake City.

If you wanna know more, surprising wikipedia is a good source. . I suggest also looking at the Public Honors, because there is a ton. Like a crater on the Moon named McNair in his honor.