David McDowell Brown

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. Brown, the 1986 recipient of the Navy Operational Flight Surgeon of the Year award, recei... more

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. Brown, the 1986 recipient of the Navy Operational Flight Surgeon of the Year award, received numerous decorations including: The symbol indicates a posthumous award. 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... less