The STS-107 crew

From: Press Service <afisnews_sender@DTIC.MIL>
To: DEFENSE-PRESS-SERVICE-L@DTIC.MIL
Subject: Five Astronauts Were in U.S. Military
Date: 01 Feb 2003 19:22:00 -0500

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Feb. 1, 2003  Five of the seven astronauts
killed aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia were serving U.S.
military officers.

The orbiter broke apart above north-central Texas on Feb. 1
at about 203,000 feet and was going about 12,500 mph, or
Mach 18, when the accident occurred. It was headed for a
planned touchdown at the Kennedy Space Center, Fla., in
about 15 minutes.

The mission commander was Air Force Col. Rick D. Husband.
The 45-year-old officer was from Amarillo, Texas. He was
married and had two children. Husband received a bachelor
of science degree in mechanical engineering from Texas Tech
University in 1980 and a master of science degree in
mechanical engineering from California State University,
Fresno, in 1990.

Husband was commissioned in May 1980, and attended pilot
training at Vance Air Force Base, Okla. He flew F-4 Phantom
aircraft. In December 1987, Husband was assigned to Edwards
Air Force Base, Calif., where he attended the U.S. Air
Force Test Pilot School. Upon completion, Husband served as
a test pilot flying the F-4 and all five models of the F-
15. In June 1992, Husband was assigned to the Aircraft and
Armament Evaluation Establishment at Boscombe Down,
England, as an exchange test pilot with the Royal Air
Force. He logged over 3,800 hours of flight time in more
than 40 different types of aircraft.

NASA selected Husband as an astronaut candidate in December
1994. He flew as pilot on STS-96 in 1999, and logged 235
hours and 13 minutes in space.

Navy Cmdr. William C. McCool was the pilot of the Columbia.
Born in San Diego, he was 41. He graduated from high school
in Lubbock, Texas. He attended the U.S. Naval Academy and
graduated second in his class in 1983. He was married.

McCool completed flight training in August 1986 and flew
EA-6B Prowlers aboard the aircraft carriers USS Coral Sea
and the USS Enterprise. He was also assigned to the Navy
Test Pilot School, Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md.
McCool had more than 2,800 hours of flight experience in 24
aircraft and more than 400 carrier arrestments.

He was selected as an astronaut in 1996. This was his first
flight into space.

Air Force Lt. Col. Michael P. Anderson, 43, was born in
Plattsburgh, N.Y. He received a bachelor of science degree
in physics/astronomy from University of Washington in 1981,
and a master of science degree in physics from Creighton
University in Omaha, Neb., in 1990.

Anderson entered the Air Force in 1981 and was assigned to
Randolph Air Force Base, Texas, as the chief of
communication maintenance at the communications squadron.
In 1986, he was selected to attend Undergraduate Pilot
Training at Vance Air Force Base, Okla. Upon graduation, he
was assigned to the 2nd Airborne Command and Control
Squadron, Offutt Air Force Base, Neb., as an EC-135 pilot.
Anderson had logged over 3,000 hours in various models of
the KC-135 and the T-38A aircraft.

He was selected as an astronaut in December 1994. He flew
on STS-89 in January 1998.

Navy Capt. (Dr.) David M. Brown was 46 and from Arlington,
Va. He received a bachelor of science degree in biology
from the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va.,
in 1978, and a doctorate in medicine from Eastern Virginia
Medical School in 1982.

Upon completion of flight surgeon training in 1984, was
assigned to Adak, Alaska. He was then deployed aboard the
carrier USS Carl Vinson. In 1988, he was the only flight
surgeon in a 10-year period to be chosen for pilot
training. He received his wings of gold in 1990. Brown flew
the A-6E Intruder and later the F-18 Hornet. He served
aboard the carrier USS Independence. In 1995, he reported
to the Navy Test Pilot School as its 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 selected as an astronaut in 1996. This was his first
flight into space.

Navy Cmdr. (Dr.) Laurel B. Clark was born in Iowa, but
considered Racine, Wis., to be her hometown. She was
married with one child. She received her bachelor of
science degree in zoology in 1983 and doctorate in medicine
in 1987, both from the University of Wisconsin in Madison.

During medical school, Clark did active duty training with
the Diving Medicine Department at the Naval Experimental
Diving Unit, Panama City, Fla., in March 1987. After
completing medical school, Clark underwent postgraduate
medical education in Pediatrics at the Naval Hospital
Bethesda, Md. In 1989, she completed Navy undersea medical
officer training at the Naval Undersea Medical Institute in
Groton, Conn., and diving medical officer training at the
Naval Diving and Salvage Training Center in Panama City.

She was then assigned as the Submarine Squadron Fourteen
Medical Department Head in Holy Loch, Scotland. During that
assignment, she dove with U.S. Navy divers and Naval
Special Warfare Unit Two Seals and performed numerous
medical evacuations from submarines.

Clark also was designated as a Naval flight surgeon. She
was stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Ariz. She
made numerous deployments, including one overseas to the
Western Pacific, practiced medicine in austere environments
and flew on multiple aircraft.

Prior to her selection as an astronaut candidate, she
served as a flight surgeon for the Naval Flight Officer
advanced training squadron in Pensacola, Fla.

The Columbia mission was her first space flight.
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