Michael J. Smith (astronaut)

For other people named Michael Smith, see Michael Smith (disambiguation).

Michael John Smith
NASA Astronaut
Nationality	American
Status	Killed during mission
Born	April 30, 1945 Beaufort, North Carolina
Died	January 28, 1986(1986-01-28) (aged 40) Cape Canaveral, Florida
Other occupation	Test Pilot
Rank	Captain, United States Navy
Selection	1980 NASA Group
Missions	STS-51-L
Mission insignia

Michael John Smith (April 30, 1945–January 28, 1986), usually known as Mike Smith, was an American astronaut—pilot of the Space Shuttle Challenger when it was destroyed during the STS-51-L mission. All seven crew members died.

Early life and military career

Smith was born in Beaufort, North Carolina. An airfield there is named for him. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1967 and served as an attack pilot during the Vietnam War, earning numerous decorations for combat including the Distinguished Flying Cross. He continued his career with the Navy after the war, becoming a Navy test pilot; he was promoted posthumously by Congress to the rank of Captain, and has had a Chair named in his honor at the United States Naval Postgraduate School.

Astronaut career

Smith was selected for the astronaut program in May 1980; in addition to being pilot on the Challenger, he had been slated to pilot a future shuttle mission which had been scheduled for Fall of 1986.^{[citation needed]}

Smith's voice was the last one heard on the Challenger voice recorder. Just before Mission Control received the last telemetry data, Smith was heard saying, "Uh-oh." The shuttle broke up 73 seconds into the flight, and at an altitude of 48,000 feet (14.6 km).^[1]

While analyzing the wreckage, investigators discovered that several electrical system switches on Smith's right-hand panel had been moved from their usual launch positions. Fellow Astronaut Richard Mullane wrote, "These switches were protected with lever locks that required them to be pulled outward against a spring force before they could be moved to a new position." Later tests established that neither force of the explosion nor the impact with the ocean could have moved them, indicating that Smith made the switch changes, presumably in a futile attempt to restore electrical power to the cockpit after the crew cabin detached from the rest of the orbiter.^[2]

Recognition

Michael J. Smith Field is named after Smith in his home town of Beaufort, North Carolina.

Smith was portrayed by Brian Kerwin in the 1990 TV movie Challenger.

See also

United States Navy portal

Notes

1. ^ Kerwin, Joseph P. (1986). "Challenger crew cause and time of death". http://history.nasa.gov/kerwin.html. Retrieved July 4, 2006. 
2. ^ Mullane, Mike (2006). Riding Rockets: The Outrageous Tales of a Space Shuttle Astronaut. Simon and Schuster. pp. 245. ISBN 9780743276825. http://books.google.com/?id=8X7ceB3QEWkC&lpg=PP1&pg=PA245#v=onepage&q=. 

References

• Official NASA Bio
• Challenger Center bio

External links

• Michael J. Smith - Arlington National Cemetery
• "Michael J. Smith". Find a Grave. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=1918. Retrieved 2008-07-20. 
• "Michael J. Smith". Find a Grave. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=6353906. Retrieved 2008-07-20. 

Persondata
Name	Smith, Michael J.
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	April 30, 1945
Place of birth	Beaufort, North Carolina
Date of death	1986
Place of death	Cape Canaveral, Florida