Nationality American Time in space 15d 22h 20m Rank Captain, USN | Role Astronaut Status Deceased Name David Brown | |
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Born April 16, 1956Arlington County, Virginia ( 1956-04-16 ) Education Yorktown High School (1970–1974), Eastern Virginia Medical School, College of William & Mary Similar People Laurel Clark, Michael P Anderson, William C McCool, Rick Husband, Ilan Ramon | ||
STS-107 SPACE SHUTTLE WAKE UP CALL DAY 16 - SILVER INCHES BY ENYA FOR DAVID M. BROWN
David McDowell Brown (April 16, 1956 – February 1, 2003) was a United States Navy captain and a NASA astronaut. He died on his first spaceflight, when the Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-107) disintegrated during orbital reentry into the Earth's atmosphere. Brown became an astronaut in 1996, but had not served on a space mission prior to the Columbia disaster. Brown is a recipient of the Congressional Space Medal of Honor.
Contents
- STS 107 SPACE SHUTTLE WAKE UP CALL DAY 16 SILVER INCHES BY ENYA FOR DAVID M BROWN
- Education
- Organizations
- Awards and honors
- Qualification insignia
- Personal decorations
- Military career
- NASA career
- Tributes
- References
Education
Organizations
Awards and honors
Brown, the 1986 recipient of the Navy Operational Flight Surgeon of the Year award, received numerous decorations including:
Qualification insignia
Personal decorations
The † symbol indicates a posthumous award.
Military career
Brown joined the U.S. Navy after his internship at the Medical University of South Carolina. Upon completion of flight surgeon training in 1984, he reported to the Navy Branch Hospital in Adak, Alaska, as Director of Medical Services. He was then assigned to Carrier Air Wing Fifteen which deployed aboard the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson in the Western Pacific. In 1988, he became the only flight surgeon in a ten-year period to be chosen for pilot training. He was ultimately designated a Naval Aviator in 1990 at NAS Chase Field in Beeville, Texas, ranking number one in his class. Brown was then sent for training and carrier qualification in the A-6E Intruder. In 1991, he reported to the Naval Strike Warfare Center at NAS Fallon, Nevada, where he served as a Strike Leader Attack Training Syllabus Instructor and a Contingency Cell Planning Officer. Additionally, he was qualified in the F/A-18 Hornet and deployed from Japan in 1992 aboard USS Independence flying the A-6E with VA-115. In 1995, he reported to the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School at NAS Patuxent River, Maryland as their flight surgeon where he also flew the T-38 Talon.
Brown logged over 2,700 flight hours with 1,700 in high performance military aircraft. He was qualified as first pilot in NASA T-38 aircraft.
He held a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued Technician Class amateur radio license with the call sign KC5ZTC.
NASA career
Selected by NASA in April 1996, Brown reported to the Johnson Space Center in August 1996. He completed two years of training and evaluation, and was qualified for flight assignment as a mission specialist. He was initially assigned to support payload development for the International Space Station, followed by the astronaut support team responsible for orbiter cockpit setup, crew strap-in, and landing recovery.
On April 21, 2001, Brown appeared on ESPN as an expert on g-force loading on the human body that led to the cancellation of the Firestone Firehawk 600 CART race.
Brown flew aboard Space Shuttle Columbia on STS-107, logging 15 days, 22 hours, and 20 minutes in space from January 16 to February 1, 2003. The flight was a dedicated science and research mission. Working 24 hours a day, in two alternating shifts, the crew successfully conducted approximately 80 experiments. The mission ended abruptly on February 1, 2003, when Columbia's crew perished during entry, 16 minutes before the scheduled landing.