NASA

This astronaut gave their life in the pursuit of space exploration.

Memorial

This astronaut crossed the Kármán Line (100 km), the internationally accepted boundary of space.

Crossed Kármán Line

Lt. Col. Scobee was selected as an astronaut candidate by NASA in January 1978. In August 1979, he completed a one-year training and evaluation period, making him eligible for assignment as a pilot on future space shuttle flight crews. In addition to his astronaut duties, Scobee served as an Instructor Pilot on the NASA/Boeing 747 shuttle carrier aircraft. He first flew as the pilot of STS-41-C, which launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on April 6, 1984. The crew included spacecraft commander Captain Robert L. Crippen and three mission specialists: Terry J. Hart, Dr. G.D. (Pinky) Nelson, and Dr. J.D.A. (Ox) van Hoften. During this mission, the crew successfully deployed the Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF), retrieved the malfunctioning Solar Maximum Satellite, repaired it onboard the orbiting Challenger, and returned it to orbit using the robotic arm known as the Remote Manipulator System (RMS). The mission also included flight testing of Manned Maneuvering Units (MMUs) during two Extravehicular Activities (EVAs), operation of the Cinema 360 and IMAX camera systems, and a Bee Hive Honeycomb Structures student experiment. The mission lasted seven days before concluding with a landing at Edwards Air Force Base, California, on April 13, 1984. With the completion of this flight, Lt. Col. Scobee logged a total of 168 hours in space. Lt. Col. Scobee served as spacecraft commander on STS-51-L, which launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, at 11:38 AM EST on January 28, 1986. The crew aboard the Orbiter Challenger included pilot M.J. Smith (U.S. Navy), three mission specialists—Dr. R.E. McNair, Lt. Col. E.S. Onizuka (U.S. Air Force), and Dr. J.A. Resnik—and two civilian payload specialists, G.B. Jarvis and S.C. McAuliffe. Tragically, the STS-51-L crew lost their lives on January 28, 1986, when Challenger exploded shortly after launch. Courtesy of NASA.

STS-51-L (Challenger)

The 25th flight of the Space Shuttle launched to deploy the second TDRS satellite for NASA, conduct "Teacher In Space" lessons, observe Halley's Comet, and carry out biomedical experiments. This was the 10th and final flight of Space Shuttle Challenger and marked the last time civilians (who were not members of the Astronaut Corps) flew on a NASA rocket. Launched in near-freezing conditions after a devastating temperature drop overnight, both O-ring seals between the two Solid Rocket Booster segments failed at the instant of launch. A temporary seal was formed by O-ring debris but was knocked loose when Challenger encountered upper level wind shear greater than she should have been launch into. The broken seal allowed hot gasses to escape the rocket booster and destroy the base of the External Tank. Challenger was ripped apart by aerodynamic forces 73 seconds after launch as the External Tank failed. Contrary to public memory, Challenger did not explode. All seven crewmembers lost their lives in what is still considered the worst spaceflight accident in history. It is the only fatal space accident that was broadcast live on TV. Over her short, three year career, Challenger spent a total of 62 days in space, travelled 41,527,414 km, and carried 60 cremembers.

The first reusable launch and landing spacecraft, the Space Shuttle began a new chapter of human space exploration. It launched like a rocket but landed on a runway like a plane. Shuttle crews deployed dozens of commercial satellites and two interplanetary probes to Venus and Jupiter. The Shuttle served as a mini space station and hosted hundreds of biomedical, psychological, physiological, materials science, and physics experiments that have directly benefited life on Earth. The five flight-worthy Shuttles -- Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis, and Endeavour -- flew 135 missions over 30 years. The Shuttles helped construct the Russian Mir space station and brought nearly 80% of the International Space Station to orbit. Shuttles also deployed and serviced the Hubble Space Telescope.

Space Shuttle

STS-41-C (Challenger)

The mission deployed the Long Duration Exposure Facility (carrying 57 science experiments) and then rendezvoused with, captured, repaired, and re-released the Solar Max satellite, marking the first-ever in-space repair of an already-launched satellite.

Francis R. "Dick" Scobee

United States of America

STS-41-G (Challenger)

The 13th flight of the space shuttle program and the sixth of Challenger, STS-41G holds many distinctions. As the first mission focused almost entirely on studying the Earth, it deployed a satellite, employed multiple instruments, cameras, and crew observations to accomplish those goals. 

The STS-41G crew set several firsts, most notably as the first seven-member space crew. Other milestones included the first astronaut to make a fourth shuttle flight, the first and only astronaut to fly on Challenger three times and on back-to-back missions on any orbiter, the first crew to include two women, the first American woman to make two spaceflights, the first American woman to conduct a spacewalk, and the first Canadian and the first Australian-born American to make spaceflights.

STS-7 (Challenger)

STS-7 marked the first time an American woman (third woman overall) flew in space. The mission deployed two communications satellites for Canada and Indonesia and carried the West German-built Shuttle Pallet Satellite containing numerous experiments.

STS-1 (Columbia)

The first flight of the Space Shuttle Program, and the first flight of Shuttle Columbia. The mission marked the first time in history a rocket was launched on its very first test flight with people onboard. At liftoff, an overpressure wave from Solid Rocket Booster ignition damaged and bent a critical flight control surface on Columbia, nearly preventing a safe return at the end of the mission. NASA enhanced the sound suppression system at the pad and the issue never recurred.

Robert L. Crippen

STS-41-B (Challenger)

During this flight, Challenger deployed two communications satellites for Western Union and Indonesia, and McCandless became the first person to perform a free-flying, untethered spacewalk. Challenger conducted the first Space Shuttle landing at the Kennedy Space Center and was the first Shuttle flight to use the new numbering scheme. Since the Shuttle was supposed to launch from both Florida and California, NASA switched to STS-41-B numbering scheme where the first number after "STS-" was the fiscal year of the program the mission was to fly in; the second number was either a "1" for Kennedy or a "2" for Vandenberg Air Force Base, California; and the "-letter" was the order the missions for a particular fiscal year and launch site were originally planned in. Thus, STS-41-B was the second planned launch from the Kennedy Space Center in the fourth year of the program.

Ronald E. McNair

Terry J. Hart

STS-51-I (Discovery)

The 20th Space Shuttle mission deployed three satellites for Australia, the U.S., and the Department of Defense. The crew then rendezvoused with another satellite, grabbed it, repaired it, and re-released it to perform its mission.

James D. van Hoften

STS-61-C (Columbia)

Space Shuttle Columbia returned to service after a major overhaul and upgrade with this mission. The crew included U.S. Congressman Bill Nelson of Florida. The flight deployed Satcom K1, which would prove to be the last commercial communications satellite launched by the Shuttle. It was the last successful human spaceflight before the Challenger Disaster. This mission was retroactively called "The End of Innocence" by its Commander.

STS-26 (Discovery)

The Space Shuttle's triumphant Return To Flight after the Challenger Disaster. Discovery's crew completed many tasks originally planned for STS-51-L/Challenger, verified all critical flight safety upgrades in the wake of the tragedy, and deployed the third TDRS satellite.

George D. Nelson

STS-41-D (Discovery)

The maiden voyage of the Space Shuttle Discovery. A June 26th launch attempt ended at T-6.4 seconds after two of the three Shuttle main engines had started to ignite. The pad abort triggered a hydrogen fire under Discovery, damaging the Space Shuttle. The abort led to major improvements in Shuttle abort safety guidelines and procedures and forced a two month delay to the flight, during which NASA cancelled STS-41-F and transferred its payload to this mission. After launch, the crew deployed three communications satellites for the U.S. (2) and Canada (1) and tested solar array technology. The flight marked the first time a company commercially sponsored an employee to fly on the Space Shuttle to perform one of its experiments.

Judith A. Resnik

STS-51-C (Discovery)

The first classified Department of Defense Space Shuttle mission. Discovery was launched at or near the minimum air temperature the Solid Rocket Boosters were certified for at the time. After launch, it was discovered that a significant anomaly with all the O-ring seals on both Solid Rocket Boosters had occurred. All O-rings were found to be burned. In one place, the hot gasses from the rocket boosters had burned completely through the primary O-ring and nearly burned through the secondary seal -- which would have caused a Challenger-like failure. Morton Thiokol (who built the solid rockets) and NASA upper management both dismissed concerns raised by this finding. The Space Shuttle kept flying.

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