Shooti

bambooshooti.bsky.social

22 October 2026 01:55

That fall, McNair entered the competitive doctoral physics program at MIT. Near the end of his research, someone stole his briefcase, which contained two years of data and his dissertation. He didn’t give up. He returned to the lab, reproduced the data and completed his Ph.D. on schedule. /5

Shooti

bambooshooti.bsky.social

22 October 2026 01:55

In January 1978, NASA selected McNair as an Astronaut Candidate (Mission Specialist), making history alongside Guy Bluford and Fred Gregory as the first African Americans chosen for the space program. In August 1979, he completed his grueling evaluation period, becoming eligible for space flight. /7

Shooti

bambooshooti.bsky.social

22 October 2026 01:55

On Jan. 28, 1986, McNair was tragically killed when the Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart 73 seconds into flight. Later that year, Congress established the TRIO Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program (McNair Scholars) to help underrepresented students enter Ph.D. programs. /end

Wordman

iamwordman.bsky.social

21 October 2026 19:42

On this day in 1962, the Century 21 Exposition (aka Seattle World's Fair) closed in Seattle, Washington. Nearly 10 million visitors attended the 6-month event. The "Living in the Space Age" theme built the Space Needle, Pacific Science Center and monorail #Philately #Stamps #StampCollecting

T.C. Boyle

tcboyle.com

21 October 2026 19:22

That's his job.