Joe Adcock (1927 - 1999)

Joe Adcock (October 30, 1927 – May 3, 1999) was a major league baseball player who also managed in the Major and Minor Leagues. He was best known as a first baseman and right-handed slugger with the powerful Milwaukee Braves teams of the 1950s, whose career included numerous home run feats. A sure-handed defensive player, […]

Dorothy Kamenshek (1925 - 2010)

Dorothy Kamenshek (December 21, 1925 – May 17, 2010) was an All-American Girls Professional Baseball League player. She batted and threw left-handed. A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Kamenshek played outfield for a local softball league, and at the age of 17 she was spotted by a scout from the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. After tryouts […]

Jackie Mitchell (1913 - 1987)

Jackie Mitchell was born August 29, 1913 in Chattanooga, Tennessee to Virne Wall Mitchell and Dr. Joseph Mitchell. When she learned how to walk, her father took her to the baseball diamond and taught her the basics of the game. Her next door neighbor, Dazzy Vance, taught her to pitch and showed her his “drop […]

George Low (1956 - 2008)

Selected by NASA in May 1984 as an astronaut candidate, George Low became an astronaut in June 1985. He held a variety of technical assignments including work on the Remote Manipulator System (RMS), on Extra-vehicular activity (EVA), and Orbiter test and checkout tasks at the Kennedy Space Center. Low served as a spacecraft communicator (CAPCOM) […]

William McCool (1961 - 2003)

William McCool completed flight training and was designated a Naval Aviator in August 1986. He was assigned to Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron 129 (VAQ-129) at NAS Whidbey Island, Washington, for initial EA-6B Prowler training. His first operational tour was with Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron 133 (VAQ-133), where he made two deployments aboard the aircraft carrier […]

Ellison Onizuka (1946 - 1986)

Ellison Onizuka was selected for the astronaut program in January 1978, and completed one year of evaluation and training in August 1979. Later, he worked in the experimentation team, Orbiter test team, and launch support crew at Kennedy Space Center for the STS-1 and STS-2. At NASA, he worked on the Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory […]

Robert Overmyer (1936 - 1996)

Robert Overmyer was the Pilot for STS-5, the first fully operational flight of the Shuttle program, which launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on November 11, 1982. He was accompanied by spacecraft commander Vance D. Brand and two Mission Specialists, Joseph P. Allen and William B. Lenoir. STS-5, the first mission with a four-man crew, […]

Alan Poindexter (1961 - 2012)

Selected by NASA in June 1998, Alan Poindexter reported for training in August 1998. Initially, Poindexter served in the Astronaut Office Shuttle Operations Branch performing duties as the lead support astronaut at Kennedy Space Center. In December 2002, he was named as Pilot on STS-120 mission to deliver the Harmony connecting node to the International […]

Dick Scobee (1939 - 1986)

Dick Scobee enlisted in the United States Air Force in 1957, where he served as a reciprocating engine mechanic at Kelly Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. While off duty, he attended San Antonio College, and eventually received a Bachelor of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Arizona in 1965. He […]

Michael Smith (1945 - 1986)

Michael Smith was born April 30, 1945, in Beaufort, North Carolina. He graduated from Beaufort High School in 1963, and went on to receive a Bachelor of Science degree in Naval Science from the United States Naval Academy in 1967. He subsequently attended the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School at Monterey, California, from which he graduated […]

Charles Veach (1944 - 1995)

Charles Veach was born September 18, 1944, in Chicago, Illinois, but considered Honolulu, Hawaii, to be his hometown. He was married to Alice Meigs Scott of Waycross, Georgia, he had two children. He enjoyed surfing, bicycling, reading and activities with his family. His parents, Mr. and Mrs. Marshall E. Veach, reside in Honolulu, Hawaii. He […]

Janice Voss (1956 - 2012)

Janice Voss graduated from Minnechaug Regional High School in Wilbraham, Massachusetts, in 1972. She earned a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Purdue University while working on a co-op at the Johnson Space Center. She earned an S.M. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from MIT in 1977. After studying space physics at Rice University from […]

David Walker (1944 - 2001)

David Walker graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland and subsequently received flight training from the Naval Air Training Command at bases in Florida, Mississippi, and Texas. He was designated a Naval Aviator in December 1967 and proceeded to Naval Air Station Miramar, California, for assignment to F-4 Phantoms aboard the aircraft carriers […]

Donald Williams (1942 - 2016)

Selected by NASA in January 1978, Donald Williams became an astronaut in August 1979, qualified for assignment as a pilot on future Space Shuttle flight crews. Since then he has had various support assignments, including working at the Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory (SAIL) as a test pilot, and at the Kennedy Space Center participating in […]

Jack Swigert (1931 - 1982)

After unsuccessfully applying for NASA’s second and third astronaut selections, Jack Swigert was accepted into the NASA Astronaut Corps as part of NASA Astronaut Group 5 in April 1966. Swigert became a specialist on the Apollo Command Module: he was one of the few astronauts who requested to be command module pilots. Jack Swigert was one […]

Stuart Roosa (1933 - 1994)

Stuart Roosa began his career as a smokejumper with the U.S. Forest Service, dropping into at least four active fires in Oregon and California during the 1953 fire season. He was a graduate of the Aviation Cadet Program at Williams Air Force Base, Arizona, where he received his flight training commission in the U.S. Air […]

Edgar Mitchell (1930 - 2016)

Edgar Mitchell was selected to be an astronaut in 1966 and was seconded from the Navy to NASA. He was designated as backup Lunar Module Pilot for Apollo 10, and served as Lunar Module Pilot on Apollo 14, landing aboard the Lunar Module “Antares” in the hilly upland Fra Mauro Highlands region. For two days, […]

Ronald Evans (1933 - 1990)

Ronald Evans was one of the 19 astronauts selected by NASA in April 1966. He served as a member of the astronaut support crews for the Apollo 7 and Apollo 11 flights, and as backup Command Module Pilot for Apollo 14. Evans’ first and only space flight was as Command Module Pilot of Apollo 17, the […]

Donn Eisele (1930 - 1987)

Donn Eisele was part of NASA’s third group of astronauts, selected in October 1963. In early 1966, Eisele was quietly selected as Pilot for the Apollo 1 crew, along with Command Pilot Virgil I. “Gus” Grissom and Senior Pilot Edward H. White. But after dislocating his shoulder twice during training, Eisele was replaced with Roger […]

Gordon Cooper (1927 - 2004)

While at Edwards, Gordon Cooper was intrigued to read an announcement saying that a contract had been awarded to McDonnell Aircraft in St. Louis, Missouri, to build a space capsule. Shortly after this he was called to Washington, D.C., for a NASA briefing on Project Mercury and the part astronauts would play in it. Cooper […]

Pete Conrad (1930 - 1999)

Pete Conrad joined NASA as part of the second group of astronauts, known as the New Nine, on September 17, 1962. Regarded as one of the best pilots in the group, he was among the first of his group to be assigned a Gemini mission. As pilot of Gemini 5 he, along with his commander […]

David Brown (1956 - 2003)

David Brown joined the U.S. 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 Air Wing Fifteen which deployed aboard the aircraft carrier USS […]

Kalpana Chawla (1962 - 2003)

In 1988, Kalpana Chawla began working at the NASA Ames Research Center, where she did Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) research on Vertical/Short Takeoff and Landing concepts. In 1993, she joined Overset Methods, Inc. as Vice President and Research Scientist specializing in simulation of moving multiple body problems. Chawla held a Certificated Flight Instructor rating for […]

Michael Anderson (1959 - 2003)

Michael Anderson graduated from the University of Washington in 1981 and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force. After completing a year of technical training at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi, he was assigned to Randolph Air Force Base, Texas. At Randolph he served as Chief of Communication Maintenance for the 2015th […]

Ilan Ramon (1954 - 2003)

Ilan Ramon was a Colonel (Aluf Mishne) and a fighter pilot in the Israeli Air Force, with thousands of hours of flying experience. In 1974, he graduated as a fighter pilot from the Israel Air Force (IAF) Flight School. From 1974–76 he participated in A-4 Basic Training and Operations. 1976–80 was spent in Mirage III-C […]

Rick Husband (1957 - 2003)

After graduating from Texas Tech University, Rick Husband was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Air Force and attended pilot training at Vance Air Force Base (AFB) in Oklahoma. He finished his training there in October 1981, and was assigned to F-4 Phantom II training at Homestead Air Force Base in Florida. […]

Laurel Clark (1961 - 2003)

During medical school Laurel Clark did active duty training with the Diving Medicine Department at the United States Navy Experimental Diving Unit in March 1987. After completing medical school, Clark underwent postgraduate medical education in pediatrics from 1987 to 1988 at the National Naval Medical Center. The following year she completed Navy undersea medical officer […]

James Irwin (1930 - 1991)

James Irwin was one of the 19 astronauts selected by NASA in April 1966. He served as a member of the astronaut support crew for Apollo 10, the first mission to carry the full Apollo stack to the Moon and the dry run for the first manned Moon landing. He then served as backup Lunar […]

Donald Slayton (1924 - 1993)

In 1959, Donald Slayton was one of 110 military test pilots selected by their commanding officers as candidates for the newly formed National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Project Mercury, the first U.S. manned space flight program. Following a gruelling series of physical and psychological tests, NASA selected Slayton to be one of the original group […]

Judith Resnik (1949 - 1986)

Judith Resnik was born in 1949 to Sarah and Marvin, an optometrist, in Akron, Ohio. Both her parents were Jewish immigrants from Ukraine. A graduate of Firestone High School in 1966, she excelled in mathematics and played classical piano. While at Firestone she achieved a perfect SAT score, the only female to do so that […]