Remembering the Forgotten
Three well known spaceflight accidents occurred early in the year. The Apollo 1 fire happened on January 27, 1967, the Challenger accident happened on January 28, 1986, and the Columbia accident on February 1, 2003. In recent years NASA has held Day of Remembrance ceremonies in late January or early February to remember those who died and reflect on what we can do better in the future. As this year’s announcement states:
NASA will honor members of the NASA family who lost their lives while furthering the cause of exploration and discovery, including the crews of Apollo 1 and space shuttles Challenger and Columbia, during the agency's annual Day of Remembrance Thursday, Feb. 7.
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, and other agency senior officials, will lead an observance at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia starting at 1 p.m. EST. A wreath-laying ceremony will be held at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, followed by observances for the Apollo 1, Challenger and Columbia crews.
It is well and proper that these three accidents continue to be remembered and analyzed and that the crews who were killed be remembered for their work and sacrifices. Unfortunately, in its efforts to elevate the status of Astronaut, especially Astronaut On a Mission, NASA tends to neglect what happened to other people. See, for example, the official web page for this year’s Day of Remembrance which makes no mention of the other people who died. I asked NASA Public Affairs for a complete list of people being honored, including non-Astronauts, but they did not respond.
With that in mind, and noting that I’m not a historian, here is my best effort at a complete listing of people who have died supporting NASA space exploration. There are probably others but the details are beyond my reach.
October 31, 1964: Theodore Freeman died in a T-38 crash during an approach to Ellington Air Force Base in Houston.
February 28, 1966: Elliot See and Charles Bassett died in a T-38 crash during an approach to Lambert Field in St. Louis.
March 19, 1981: John Bjornstad and Forrest Cole died of inert gas asphyxiation while preparing the Space Shuttle Columbia for its first launch (STS-1).
February 28, 1986 (Challenger Accident): Francis Scobee, Michael Smith, Ellison Onizuka, Judith Resnik, Ronald McNair, Gregory Jarvis, and Christa McAuliffe died during the launch of STS-51L.
February 1, 2003 (Columbia Accident): Rick Husband, William McCool, David Brown, Kalpana Chawla, Michael Anderson, Laurel Clark, and Ilan Ramon died when the spacecraft disintegrated during atmospheric entry.
March 27, 2003: Jules Francis Mier and Charles Krenek died in a helicopter crash during Columbia accident investigation debris recovery efforts in East Texas.
April 20, 2007: David Beverly was killed by gunman William Phillips during a hostage taking at the Johnson Space Center.
March 14, 2011: James Vanover committed suicide by jumping from the launch tower during preparations for the STS-134 launch. He was apparently distraught over losing his job as a result of the end of the Space Shuttle program, among other reasons.
I should note that I have made an editorial judgement not to include people who have died while working in the space program but outside their official duties, such as in a car accident or by illness. Nonetheless, RIP.
