The Astronaut Ellison S. Onizuka Memorial Committee placed a wreath at the memorial, located in Little Tokyo’s Weller Court, on Jan. 28, the date when the space shuttle Challenger exploded shortly after liftoff in 1986. Dedicated in 1990, the memorial to Onizuka and his six crewmates includes a 1/10th scale model of the Challenger. An Air Force test pilot from Kealakekua, Hawaii, Onizuka became the first Asian American in space when he flew aboard the shuttle Discovery in 1985.