William Cameron McCool

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William Cameron "Willie" McCool
William Cameron McCool
Astronaut
 Nationality American
 Born September 23, 1961
San Diego, California
 Died February 1, 2003
Over Texas
 Occupation1 Test Pilot
 Rank Commander, USN
 Space time 15d 22h 20m
 Selection 1996 NASA Group
 Mission(s) STS-107
Mission insignia
 1 previous or current

William Cameron "Willie" McCool (September 23, 1961 – February 1, 2003) was a United States Navy Commander, NASA astronaut and the Space Shuttle pilot of Columbia mission STS-107. He was killed when the craft disintegrated during re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere.

Contents

[edit] Personal data

McCool was born 23 September 1961 in San Diego, California, and died on 1 February 2003 over the southern United States when Space Shuttle Columbia and her crew perished during entry, 16 minutes prior to scheduled landing. He is survived by his wife and children. He enjoyed running, mountain biking, back country hiking/camping, swimming, playing guitar, and chess. His favorite song was "Imagine" by John Lennon which was played during the space mission. His favorite band was Radiohead, and the song "Fake Plastic Trees" was also played by mission control as a wake-up call.

[edit] Education

[edit] Organizations

  • U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association.

[edit] Awards

[edit] Special honors

[edit] Tributes

  • Asteroid 51829 Williemccool was posthumously named for McCool
  • McCool Hill in the Columbia Hills on Mars was posthumously named for McCool
  • McCool Hall, in the Columbia Village apartments, at the Florida Institute of Technology is named after him.
  • Guam South Elementary/Middle School, a DODEA school in Santa Rita, Guam, was renamed Cdr. William C. McCool Elementary/Middle School on August 29, 2003.
  • Willie McCool Track and Field at Coronado High School in Lubbock, Texas, was posthumously named for McCool.
  • Willie McCool Memorial dedicated on Saturday, May 7, 2005 at Huneke Park at 82nd and Quaker Avenue in Lubbock, Texas.
  • The William McCool Science Center, located on the campus of the Frank Lamping Elementary School in Las Vegas, Nevada, is a facility where elementary students throughout the Clark County School District have an opportunity to learn about space and other fields of science.
  • A Gawad Kalinga village in Moncada, Tarlac, Philippines, will be named "USN Commander Willie McCool GK Village". [1]
  • In the Star Trek book Mirror Universe - Glass Empires, the shuttlecraft of the U.S.S. Defiant in the short story "Age of the Empress" is named the McCool.

[edit] Experience

McCool completed flight training in August 1986 and was assigned to Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron 129 at Whidbey Island, Washington, for initial EA-6B Prowler training. His first operational tour was with Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron 133, where he made two deployments aboard USS Coral Sea (CV-43) to the Mediterranean Sea, and received designation as a wing qualified landing signal officer (LSO). In November 1989, he was selected for the Naval Postgraduate School/Test Pilot School (TPS) Cooperative Education Program. After graduating from TPS in June 1992, he worked as TA-4J and EA-6B test pilot in Flight Systems Department of Strike Aircraft Test Directorate at Patuxent River, Maryland. He was responsible for the management and conduct of a wide variety of projects, ranging from airframe fatigue life studies to numerous avionics upgrades. His primary efforts, however, were dedicated to flight test of the Advanced Capability (ADVCAP) EA-6B. Following his Patuxent River tour, McCool returned to Whidbey Island, and was assigned to Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron 132 aboard USS Enterprise (CVN-65). He served as Administrative and Operations Officer with the squadron through their work-up cycle, receiving notice of NASA selection while embarked on Enterprise for her final pre-deployment at-sea period.

McCool accumulated over 2,800 hours flight experience in 24 aircraft and over 400 carrier arrestments.

[edit] NASA experience

Selected by NASA in April 1996, McCool reported to the Johnson Space Center in August 1996. He completed two years of training and evaluation, and was qualified for flight assignment as a pilot. Initially assigned to the Computer Support Branch, McCool also served as Technical Assistant to the Director of Flight Crew Operations, and worked Shuttle cockpit upgrade issues for the Astronaut Office. He was the pilot on STS-107, logging 15 days, 22 hours and 20 minutes in space.

[edit] Space flight experience

STS-107 Columbia (January 16 to February 1, 2003). The 16-day flight was a dedicated science and research mission. Working 24 hours a day, in two alternating shifts, the crew successfully conducted approximately 80 experiments. The STS-107 mission ended abruptly on 1 February 2003 when Space Shuttle Columbia and her crew perished during entry, 16 minutes before scheduled landing.

[edit] See also

[edit] Quote

  • From our orbital vantage point, we observe an earth without borders, full of peace, beauty and magnificence, and we pray that humanity as a whole can imagine a borderless world as we see it and strive to live as one in peace.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Townley, Alvin [2006-12-26]. Legacy of Honor: The Values and Influence of America's Eagle Scouts. New York: St. Martin's Press, pp. 79. ISBN 0-312-36653-1. Retrieved on 2006-12-29. 
Seal of STS-107
STS-107
Main articles: Space Shuttle Columbia, Space Shuttle Columbia disaster
Crew: Husband (Cmdr), McCool, Brown, Chawla, Anderson, Clark, Ramon
Crew photo of STS-107
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