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Dick Scobee
Scobee in 1984
Born	Francis Richard Scobee (1939-05-19)May 19, 1939 Cle Elum, Washington, U.S.
Died	January 28, 1986(1986-01-28) (aged 46) North Atlantic Ocean
Resting place	Arlington National Cemetery
Education	University of Arizona (BS)
Awards	Distinguished Flying Cross Congressional Space Medal of Honor
Space career
NASA astronaut
Rank	Lieutenant colonel, USAF
Time in space	6d 23h 40m
Selection	NASA Group 8 (1978)
Missions	STS-41-C STS-51-L (disaster)
Mission insignia

Francis Richard "Dick" Scobee (May 19, 1939 – January 28, 1986) was an American pilot, engineer, and astronaut. He was killed while commanding the Space Shuttle Challenger in 1986, which suffered catastrophic booster failure during launch of the STS-51-L mission.

Scobee held a Bachelor of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering, graduating from the University of Arizona in 1965. He was a reciprocating engine mechanic for the United States Air Force and served as a combat aviator in the Vietnam War.

Selected for NASA Astronaut Corps in January 1978, Scobee completed his training in August 1979. While awaiting his first orbital spaceflight mission, Scobee served as an instructor pilot for the Shuttle's 747 carrier aircraft. In April 1984, he piloted Challenger mission STS-41-C, which successfully deployed one satellite and repaired another.

Early life

Scobee was born May 19, 1939, in Cle Elum, Washington, to Francis William Scobee and Edlynn (Miller) Scobee. He attended North Auburn Elementary School (Later named Dick Scobee Elementary after him), Cascade Jr. High School, and Auburn Senior High School, from which he graduated in 1957.

Air Force service

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, Scobee attended San Antonio College, and eventually received a Bachelor of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Arizona in 1965. He was a member of Tau Beta Pi.

In 1965, Scobee was awarded an officer's commission. Afterward, he attended flight school and earned his pilot wings in 1966, serving as a combat aviator in the Vietnam War. Scobee was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal, and other decorations.

After his tour of duty, Scobee attended the USAF Aerospace Research Pilot School (Class 71B) at Edwards Air Force Base, 100 miles north of Los Angeles, California. Upon graduation in 1972, he became an Air Force test pilot, logging thousands of hours of flight time in dozens of aircraft, including the Boeing 747, the experimental X-24B lifting body, the F-111 Aardvark, and the gigantic C-5 Galaxy.

Challenger

Scobee was assigned commander for the ill-fated STS-51-L mission, after having previously flown Challenger in STS-41-C as a pilot. The mission, designed to deploy a satellite to study the approaching Halley's Comet and to inaugurate the Teacher in Space Project, was delayed numerous times due to bad weather and technical glitches. When the mission finally did lift off the pad, a solid rocket booster O-ring seal failure destroyed the shuttle 73 seconds into the flight, killing Scobee and the other six crew members; the disaster, viewed live on national television, prompted several days of national mourning, as well as a major shakeup at NASA. He died a lieutenant colonel. At T+68 into the mission, the CAPCOM Richard Covey informed the crew that they were "go at throttle up", and Scobee confirmed the call—his last recorded words were his response, "Roger, go at throttle up." The shuttle broke up at an altitude of 48,000 feet (14.6 km).

Some experts, including one of NASA's lead investigators, Robert Overmyer, who was closest to Scobee, believed most if not all of the crew were alive and possibly conscious during the entire descent until impact with the ocean. After the investigation, Overmyer stated, "I not only flew with Dick Scobee, we owned a plane together, and I know Scob did everything he could to save his crew. Scob fought for any and every edge to survive. He flew that ship without wings all the way down."

Family

Scobee married Virginia June Kent (now June Scobee Rodgers; born November 30, 1942), with whom he had two children: Kathie R. Scobee Fulgham and Lieutenant General Richard W. Scobee. Dick Scobee is buried at Arlington National Cemetery. June remarried in 1989 to retired Army LTG Don Rodgers. Richard graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy, has flown F-16s for the USAF, and has commanded the 506th Air Expeditionary Group, 944th Fighter Wing, the 301st Fighter Wing, the 10th Air Force and U.S. Air Force Reserve Command. He led the military flyover during the pregame of Super Bowl XXX, which was played on the 10th anniversary of the disaster in 1996.

Awards and recognition

On July 9, 1994, the San Antonio College Planetarium was rededicated The Scobee Planetarium. In 2004, Scobee was posthumously awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor and was inducted into the Astronaut Hall of Fame. After the Challenger disaster, a number of schools, streets, and municipal facilities in the U.S. were renamed in his honor. North Auburn Elementary School in Auburn, WA was renamed Dick Scobee Elementary, and Auburn Municipal Airport became Dick Scobee Field. Dick Scobee Memorial Airfield is a radio-controlled and model aircraft facility located at George Bush Park in western Harris County, Texas.

Scobee Road in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, along with Ronald McNair Boulevard and Christa McAuliffe Street, commemorate Scobee and his fellow Challenger crew members. In Houston, Texas's George Bush Park, there is a R/C (Remote Controlled) Flying Field named in Scobee’s honor. He was portrayed by Barry Bostwick in the 1990 TV film Challenger. Scobee also made an appearance in the 1985 IMAX documentary The Dream is Alive, shot during the STS-41C mission. In April 1986, Dick Scobee Elementary School in the Auburn School District was dedicated in a ceremony attended by his spouse, June. The Cygnus NG-21 spacecraft was named S.S. Francis R. "Dick" Scobee in his memory.

References

1. ^ Thom Patterson (January 27, 2019). "Son of space shuttle Challenger commander remembers tragedy". CNN. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
2. "FRANCIS R. (DICK) SCOBEE (LT. COL., U.S. AIR FORCE, RET.) NASA ASTRONAUT (DECEASED)" (PDF). NASA. May 2013. Retrieved May 18, 2021.
3. Kerwin, Joseph P. (1986). "Challenger crew cause and time of death". Archived from the original on January 3, 2013. Retrieved July 4, 2006.
4. Barbree, Jay (January 1997). "Chapter 5: An eternity of descent". NBC News. Retrieved July 29, 2009.
5. "Biographies : LIEUTENANT GENERAL RICHARD W. SCOBEE". www.af.mil. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
6. "Naval Air Station Area Impact Expected To Grow With Base", Fort Worth Business Press, Fort Worth, TX, February 22, 2010
7. Auburn Municipal Airport located in Washington State (WA) Archived March 7, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
8. Map of [1–36] Dick Scobee Rd Myrtle Beach, SC by MapQuest
9. "About - Bayou City Flyers". Retrieved December 11, 2022.
10. Catchpole, Terry (February 8, 1991). "The Dream is Alive". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved December 11, 2022.
11. McCarthy, Kathy (April 28, 1986). "Challenger Astronaut Remembered in Hometown". Associated Press. Retrieved December 11, 2022.
12. "Northrop Grumman names Cygnus cargo craft for fallen Challenger commander". collectSPACE.com. Retrieved July 24, 2024.

External links

• "FRANCIS R. (DICK) SCOBEE (LT. COL., U.S. AIR FORCE, RET.) NASA ASTRONAUT (DECEASED)" (PDF). NASA. May 2013. Retrieved May 18, 2021.
• Francis R. Scobee – Arlington National Cemetery
• The Auburn, Washington Elementary school named in his honour.

v t e STS-51-L
Space Shuttle Challenger disaster
	Main articles	Space Shuttle Challenger Timeline of the STS-51-L mission
	Crew	Dick Scobee Michael J. Smith Judith Resnik Ellison Onizuka Ronald McNair Gregory Jarvis Christa McAuliffe
	See also	Rogers Commission Report Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster TDRS-B Challenger flag Challenger (1990 film) The Challenger Disaster (2013 film) Challenger: The Final Flight (2020 documentary miniseries)

v t e NASA Astronaut Group 8, "TFNG (Thirty-Five New Guys)", 1978
NASA Astronaut Group 7 ← NASA Astronaut Group 8 → NASA Astronaut Group 9
Pilots	Daniel Brandenstein Michael Coats Richard Covey John Creighton Robert Gibson Frederick D. Gregory S. David Griggs Frederick Hauck Jon McBride Steven Nagel Francis "Dick" Scobee Brewster Shaw Loren Shriver David Walker Donald Williams
Mission specialists	Guion Bluford James Buchli John Fabian Anna Fisher Dale Gardner Terry Hart Steven Hawley Jeffrey Hoffman Shannon Lucid Ronald McNair Mike Mullane George Nelson Ellison Onizuka Judith Resnik Sally Ride Rhea Seddon Robert Stewart Kathryn Sullivan Norman Thagard James van Hoften
v t e NASA Astronaut Groups NASA Astronaut Corps Groups 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Related List of astronauts by year of selection Astronaut ranks and positions List of United States Marine Corps astronauts List of United States Space Force astronauts

• 1939 births
• 1986 deaths
• University of Arizona alumni
• United States Air Force officers
• United States Air Force personnel of the Vietnam War
• Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in the United States
• Burials at Arlington National Cemetery
• Recipients of the Congressional Space Medal of Honor
• Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)
• Recipients of the Air Medal
• United States Astronaut Hall of Fame inductees
• U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School alumni
• Space Shuttle program astronauts
• Space Shuttle Challenger disaster victims
• People from Auburn, Washington
• United States Air Force astronauts
• People from Cle Elum, Washington
• Military personnel from Washington (state)