David M. Brown

David McDowell Brown
NASA Astronaut
Status	Deceased
Born	April 16, 1956(1956-04-16) Arlington, Virginia
Died	February 1, 2003 (aged 46) Over Texas
Previous occupation	Test Pilot
Rank	Captain, USN
Time in space	15d 22h 20m
Selection	NASA Astronaut Group 16 (1996)
Missions	STS-107
Mission insignia

David McDowell Brown (April 16, 1956 – February 1, 2003) was a United States Naval Captain and a NASA astronaut. He died on his first space flight, 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.

Education

• 1974: Graduated from Yorktown High School, Arlington, Virginia
• 1978: Received bachelor of science degree in biology from the College of William and Mary
• 1982: Received a doctorate in medicine from Eastern Virginia Medical School

Organizations

• Active in the Boy Scouts of America where he achieved its second highest rank, Life Scout.
• Past President, International Association of Military Flight Surgeon Pilots
• Associate Fellow, Aerospace Medical Association
• Society of U.S. Naval Flight Surgeons.

Awards and honors

Brown, the 1986 recipient of the Navy Operational Flight Surgeon of the Year award, received numerous decorations including:

Qualification insignia

• Naval Aviator
• Naval Astronaut
• Naval Flight Surgeon

Personal decorations

• Defense Distinguished Service Medal ^†
• Meritorious Service Medal
• Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal
• Congressional Space Medal of Honor ^†
• NASA Distinguished Service Medal ^†
• NASA Space Flight Medal ^†
• National Defense Service Medal

The ^† symbol indicates a posthumous award.

Military career

Brown joined the 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 Airwing Fifteen which deployed aboard the USS Carl Vinson in the western Pacific. In 1988, he was the only flight surgeon in a ten year period to be chosen for pilot training. He was ultimately designated a naval aviator in 1990 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 in 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-18 Hornet and deployed from Japan in 1992 aboard the USS Independence flying the A-6E with VA-115. In 1995, he reported to the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School 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 an 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. Brown flew aboard STS-107, logging 15 days, 22 hours, and 20 minutes in space.

Space flight experience

STS-107 Columbia (January 16 to February 1, 2003). The 16-day 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 STS-107 mission ended abruptly on February 1, 2003 when Space Shuttle Columbia and her crew perished during entry, 16 minutes before scheduled landing.

Tributes

• Asteroid 51825 Davidbrown was named after Brown
• Brown Hall, in the Columbia Village apartments, at the Florida Institute of Technology is named after him.
• He is the first person ever to be posthumously awarded the William & Mary Alumni Association's Alumni Medal.
• The Laurel B. Clark and David M. Brown Aerospace Medicine Academic Center, located at the Naval Aerospace Medical Institute, is named after him.
• The Captain David Brown Aerospace and Medical Research Endowment was established in his memory to help deserving students attending Eastern Virginia Medical School.

External links

• David McDowell Brown at Find a Grave
• Official biography
• David Brown STS-107 Crew Memorial
• Captain David Brown Aerospace and Medical Research Endowment
• Florida Today — Florida Tech dedicates dorms to Columbia 7 — October 29, 2003

See also

• Space science
• Space Shuttle Columbia disaster

v • d • e STS-107 Main articles Space Shuttle Columbia · Space Shuttle Columbia disaster · Space Shuttle external tank · Space Shuttle thermal protection system Crew Husband (Cmdr) · McCool · Brown · Chawla · Anderson · Clark · Ramon See also Columbia Accident Investigation Board