David McDowell Brown (April 16, 1956 – February 1, 2003) was a

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

and

NASA astronaut The NASA Astronaut Corps is a unit of the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) that selects, trains, and provides astronauts as crew members for U.S. and international space missions. It is based at Johnson Space Ce ...

. He died on his first

spaceflight Spaceflight (or space flight) is an application of astronautics to fly objects, usually spacecraft, into or through outer space, either with or without humans on board. Most spaceflight is uncrewed and conducted mainly with spacecraft such ...

, when the Space Shuttle ''Columbia'' (

STS-107 STS-107 was the 113th flight of the Space Shuttle program, and the 28th(twenty eigth) and final flight of Space Shuttle ''Columbia''. The mission ended on the 1st of February 2003, with the Space Shuttle ''Columbia'' disaster which killed al ...

) 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. He was posthumously awarded the

Congressional Space Medal of Honor The Congressional Space Medal of Honor was authorized by the United States Congress in 1969 to recognize "any astronaut who in the performance of his or her duties has distinguished himself or herself by exceptionally meritorious efforts and co ...

Education

* Graduated from McKinley Elementary,

Arlington, Virginia Arlington County, or simply Arlington, is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Virginia. The county is located in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from Washington, D.C., the nati ...

* Graduated from Swanson Middle, Arlington, Virginia * 1974: Graduated from Yorktown High School, Arlington, Virginia * 1978: Received bachelor of science degree in

biology Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, History of life, origin, evolution, and ...

from the

College of William & Mary The College of William & Mary (abbreviated as W&M) is a public university, public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1693 under a royal charter issued by King William III of England, William III and Queen ...

* 1982: Received a doctorate in medicine from

Eastern Virginia Medical School Eastern Virginia Medical School (EVMS), part of the Macon and Joan Brock Virginia Health Sciences at Old Dominion University, commonly known as Virginia Health Sciences, is a public medical school in Norfolk, Virginia operated by Old Dominion U ...

Organizations

* Active in the

Boy Scouts of America Scouting America is the largest scouting organization and one of the largest List of youth organizations, youth organizations in the United States, with over 1 million youth, including nearly 200,000 female participants. Founded as the Boy Sco ...

, where Brown achieved its second-highest rank,

Life Scout Advancement and recognition in Scouting America is a tradition dating from the inception of the Scouting movement. A fundamental purpose of advancement is the self-confidence a young man or woman acquires from his participation in Scouting. Advanc ...

. * Past President, International Association of Military Flight Surgeon Pilots * Associate Fellow,

Aerospace Medical Association The Aerospace Medical Association (AsMA) is the largest professional organization in the fields of aviation, space, and environmental medicine. The AsMA membership includes aerospace and hyperbaric medical specialists, scientists, flight nurses ...

* Society of U.S. Naval Flight Surgeons.

Military career

Brown joined the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...

after his internship at the

Medical University of South Carolina The Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) is a public medical school in Charleston, South Carolina. It opened in 1824 as a small private college aimed at training physicians and has since established hospitals and medical facilities acros ...

. Upon completion of flight surgeon training in 1984, Brown reported to the Navy Branch Hospital in

Adak, Alaska Adak (; , ), formerly Adak Station, is a city located on Adak Island, in the Aleutians West Census Area, Alaska, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 171, down from 326 in 2010. It is the westernmost municipality in the Unite ...

, as Director of Medical Services. He was then assigned to Carrier Air Wing Fifteen which deployed aboard the

aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and hangar facilities for supporting, arming, deploying and recovering carrier-based aircraft, shipborne aircraft. Typically it is the ...

in the Western Pacific. In 1988, Brown became the only flight surgeon in a 10-year period to be chosen for pilot training. He was ultimately designated a

Naval Aviator Naval aviation / Aeronaval is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. It often involves '' navalised aircraft'', specifically designed for naval use. Seaborne aviation encompas ...

in 1990 at NAS Chase Field in

Beeville, Texas Beeville is a city in Bee County, Texas, Bee County, Texas, United States. Its population of 13,543 at the 2020 census makes it the 207th-largest city in Texas. It is the county seat of Bee County and home to the main campus of Coastal Bend Co ...

, ranking number one in his class. Brown was then sent for training and carrier qualification in the

A-6E Intruder The Grumman A-6 Intruder is a twinjet all-weather subsonic attack aircraft developed and manufactured by American aircraft company Grumman Aerospace. It was formerly operated by the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps. The A-6 was designed in res ...

. In 1991, he reported to the Naval Strike Warfare Center at NAS Fallon,

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

, serving as a Strike Leader Attack Training Syllabus Instructor and a Contingency Cell Planning Officer. Brown was also qualified in the

F/A-18 Hornet The McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet is an all-weather supersonic, twinjet, twin-engine, carrier-based aircraft, carrier-capable, Multirole combat aircraft, multirole combat aircraft, designed as both a Fighter aircraft, fighter and attack airc ...

and deployed from Japan in 1992 aboard flying the A-6E with VA-115. In 1995, he reported to the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School at

NAS Patuxent River Naval Air Station Patuxent River , also known as NAS Pax River, is a United States naval air station in St. Mary’s County, Maryland on the Chesapeake Bay near the mouth of the Patuxent River. It is home to Headquarters, Naval Air Systems Comma ...

, Maryland as their flight surgeon, where Brown also flew the

T-38 Talon The Northrop T-38 Talon is a two-seat, twinjet supersonic jet trainer designed and produced by the American aircraft manufacturer Northrop Corporation. It was the world's first supersonic trainer as well as the most produced. The T-38 can be tra ...

. Brown logged over 2,700 flight hours with 1,700 in high-performance military aircraft. He was qualified as the first pilot in NASA T-38 aircraft and held a

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, internet, wi-fi, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains j ...

(FCC) issued Technician Class

amateur radio license Amateur radio, also known as ham radio, is the use of the radio frequency spectrum for purposes of non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training, private recreation, radiosport, contesting, and emergency communi ...

with the

call sign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally as ...

KC5ZTC.

NASA career

Selected by

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

in April 1996, Brown reported to the

Johnson Space Center The Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC) is NASA's center for human spaceflight in Houston, Texas (originally named the Manned Spacecraft Center), where human spaceflight training, research, and flight controller, flight control are conducted. ...

in August 1996. He completed two years of training and evaluation and was qualified for flight assignment as a mission specialist. Brown was initially assigned to support payload development for the

International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is a large space station that was Assembly of the International Space Station, assembled and is maintained in low Earth orbit by a collaboration of five space agencies and their contractors: NASA (United ...

, 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 ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

as an expert on

g-force The g-force or gravitational force equivalent is a Specific force, mass-specific force (force per unit mass), expressed in Unit of measurement, units of standard gravity (symbol ''g'' or ''g''0, not to be confused with "g", the symbol for ...

loading on the human body that led to the cancellation of the

Firestone Firehawk 600 The Firestone Firehawk 600 was a planned American open-wheel car race scheduled for April 29, 2001 at the Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas, United States. The event was sanctioned by Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) and was the ...

CART A cart or dray (Australia and New Zealand) is a vehicle designed for transport, using two wheels and normally pulled by draught animals such as horses, donkeys, mules and oxen, or even smaller animals such as goats or large dogs. A handcart ...

race. Brown flew aboard Space Shuttle ''Columbia'' on

, 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. On February 1, 2003, all seven members ''Columbias crew perished during reentry, 16 minutes before the scheduled landing.

Personal life

The only unmarried member of the STS-107 crew, Brown had previously been romantically involved with NASA engineer Ann Micklos. The couple ended their relationship shortly before the mission and remained close friends until his death. The crew of STS-107 had formed a close friendship during their training, and Brown had been preparing a video to commemorate this once they returned from the mission. He is buried in

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia. ...

Awards and honors

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

Qualification insignia

* Naval Astronaut * Naval Flight Surgeon

Personal decorations

Defense Distinguished Service Medal The Defense Distinguished Service Medal is a military decoration of the United States Department of Defense, which is presented to United States Armed Forces service members for exceptionally distinguished performance of duty contributing to the ...

^† * Meritorious Service Medal *

Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal The Achievement Medal is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. The Achievement Medal was first proposed as a means to recognize outstanding achievement or meritorious service of military personnel who were not eligible to rece ...

National Defense Service Medal The National Defense Service Medal (NDSM) is a service award of the United States Armed Forces established by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953. It was awarded to every member of the U.S. Armed Forces who served during any one of four s ...

^† *

NASA Distinguished Service Medal The NASA Distinguished Service Medal is the highest award that can be bestowed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration of the United States. The medal may be presented to any member of the federal government, including both milita ...

^† *

NASA Space Flight Medal The NASA Space Flight Medal is a decoration of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. According to its statutes, it is awarded "for significant achievement or service during individual participation as a civilian or military astronau ...

^† The ^† symbol indicates a posthumous award.

Tributes

* Asteroid 51825 Davidbrown was named in honor of Brown. * Lunar crater D. Brown is named after Brown. * Brown Hall, in the Columbia Village apartments, at the

Florida Institute of Technology Florida Institute of Technology (Florida Tech or FIT) is a private research university in Melbourne, Florida. The university comprises four academic colleges: Engineering & Science, Aeronautics, Psychology & Liberal Arts, and Business. Approxim ...

is named after him. * He is the first person 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. * The planetarium of

Arlington Public Schools Arlington Public Schools is a public school division in Arlington County, Virginia. In 2019, student enrollment was 28,020 students, with students coming from more than 146 countries. In 2015, there were 2,166 teachers. There are 24 elementary ...

, from which Brown graduated, was renamed the David M. Brown Planetarium. * The Dave Brown Memorial Park in

Friendswood, Texas Friendswood is a city in the U.S. state of Texas. It is part of the Greater Houston metropolitan area. The city lies in Galveston and Harris counties. As of the 2020 census, the population of Friendswood was 41,213. History Friendswood, s ...

, is named after him. * The annual Astronaut Dave Brown Memorial gymnastics meet is held at the

in his honor, where Dave Brown was a gymnast. * Yorktown High School Crew Team Men's Varsity 8 boat name Captain David M. Brown - c. 2003 * Circle Oil Hill Elementary of

Circle USD 375 Circle USD 375 is a public unified school district headquartered in Towanda, Kansas, United States. The district includes the communities of Towanda, Benton, Greenwich, Midian, western El Dorado, eastern Bel Aire, and nearby rural areas. S ...

in Kansas grants a scholarship each year - David Brown Hopes & Dreams Scholarship. This scholarship was first awarded in 2005.

References

External links

* *
David Brown STS-107 Crew MemorialCaptain David Brown Aerospace and Medical Research Endowment
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, David Macdowell 1956 births 2003 deaths Space Shuttle Columbia disaster Accidental deaths in Texas Amateur radio people American test pilots Aviators from Virginia Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in the United States Burials at Arlington National Cemetery College of William & Mary alumni Eastern Virginia Medical School alumni Military personnel from Virginia People from Arlington County, Virginia Physician astronauts Recipients of the Congressional Space Medal of Honor Recipients of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal Recipients of the NASA Distinguished Service Medal Space Shuttle program astronauts United States Naval Aviators United States Naval Test Pilot School alumni United States Navy astronauts United States Navy captains United States Navy Medical Corps officers United States Navy personnel of the Gulf War United States Navy personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) Yorktown High School (Virginia) alumni