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Francis R.
(Dick) Scobee
Birthplace
& Date:
May 19, 1939, in Cle Elum, Washington
Challenger
Position: Commander
Education: Enlisted in the
U.S. Air Force in 1957 after finishing high school; attended
night school while stationed in Texas earning two years of
college credit; awarded a scholarship through the Airman's
Education and Commissioning program; graduated with a degree
in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Arizona in
1965.
Honors: Awarded the Air Force Distinguished Flying
Cross, the Air Medal, and two NASA Exceptional Service
Medals | |
| Challenger's commander was
Francis R. (Dick) Scobee, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Francis W. Scobee.
He was born on May 19, 1939, in Cle Elum, Washington, and graduated
from the public high school in Auburn, Washington, in 1957. He then
enlisted in the U.S. Air Force, training as a reciprocating engine
mechanic but longing to fly. He took night courses and in 1965
completed a B.S. degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University
of Arizona. This made it possible for Scobee to receive an officer's
commission and enter the Air Force pilot training program. He
received his pilot's wings in 1966 and began a series of flying
assignments with the Air Force, including a combat tour in Vietnam.
Scobee also married June Kent of San Antonio, Texas, and they had
two children, Kathie R. and Richard W., in the early 1960s. He
attended the USAF Aerospace Research Pilot School at Edwards Air
Force Base, California, in 1972 and thereafter was involved in
several test programs. As an Air Force test pilot Scobee flew more
than 45 types of aircraft, logging more than 6,500 hours of flight
time.
In 1978 Scobee entered NASA's astronaut
corps and was the pilot of STS-41-C, the fifth orbital flight of the
Challenger spacecraft, launching from Kennedy Space Center,
Florida, on April 6, 1984. During this seven-day mission the crew
successfully retrieved and repaired the ailing Solar Maximum
Satellite and returned it to orbit. This was an enormously important
mission, because it demonstrated the capability that NASA had long
said existed with the Space Shuttle to repair satellites in orbit.
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