Space Shuttle Challenger Memorial (1990)
by Isao Hirai, with Joseph Hernandez
DESCRIPTION: memorial to the Challenger Seven flight, crew, and program, specially honoring flight crew member Colonel Ellison Shoji Onizuka, consisting of the following components:
This memorial to the Challenger Seven Flight 51-L and the explosion that killed crew members on Jan. 28, 1986, pays tribute to the space program, the flight crew, and specifically to crew member Colonel Ellison Shoji Onizuka, the nation's first Japanese American astronaut. The memorial was commissioned by the Ellison S. Onizuka Memorial Committee.
The sculptural component of the memorial is the 2,000-pound model of the NASA Challenger Seven space shuttle, produced by Isao Hirai at his Scale Model Company facility in Hawthorne, California. It was removed by Hirai in March, 2011 for a complete restoration after an unsuccessful re-painting was done to cover deteriorating surfaces.
Three bronze dedication plaques to Challenger Seven, the Space Program, and to Colonel Onizuka are mounted on the granite plinth, and Isao Hirai brought in Joseph Hernandez to design the bronze bas relief bust on the Onizuka dedication plaque.
- 18.3-foot high by 7-foot by 7-foot, 2,000-pound, one-tenth scale model of the Challenger Seven space shuttle, by Isao Hirai
- 6.5-foot high by 7-foot by 7-foot square black granite-faced plinth
- bronze dedication plaque to the Challenger Seven flight, crew, and program in English and Japanese
- bronze dedication plaque to the U. S. Space Program in English and Japanese
- bronze dedication plaque to Colonel Ellison Shoji Onizuka in English and Japanese containing a cast bronze bas relief bust of Col. Onizuka designed by Joseph Hernandez
This memorial to the Challenger Seven Flight 51-L and the explosion that killed crew members on Jan. 28, 1986, pays tribute to the space program, the flight crew, and specifically to crew member Colonel Ellison Shoji Onizuka, the nation's first Japanese American astronaut. The memorial was commissioned by the Ellison S. Onizuka Memorial Committee.
The sculptural component of the memorial is the 2,000-pound model of the NASA Challenger Seven space shuttle, produced by Isao Hirai at his Scale Model Company facility in Hawthorne, California. It was removed by Hirai in March, 2011 for a complete restoration after an unsuccessful re-painting was done to cover deteriorating surfaces.
Three bronze dedication plaques to Challenger Seven, the Space Program, and to Colonel Onizuka are mounted on the granite plinth, and Isao Hirai brought in Joseph Hernandez to design the bronze bas relief bust on the Onizuka dedication plaque.
LOCATION: Astronaut Ellison S Onizuka Street, Weller Court, Little Tokyo, Los Angeles, California, USA
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Astronaut Ellison S Onizuka Street, Weller Court
BRONZE BAS RELIEF OF COLONEL ELLISON SHOJI ONIZUKA by Joseph Hernandez
DEDICATION PLAQUES:
