Astronaut Memorial
Encyclopedia
Memorial
A memorial is an object which serves as a focus for memory of something, usually a person or an event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects or art objects such as sculptures, statues or fountains, and even entire parks....
on the grounds of the John F. Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex on Merritt Island, Florida
Merritt Island, Florida
Merritt Island is a census-designated place in Brevard County, Florida, United States. It is located on the east coast of the state on the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2000 census, the population was 36,090. It is part of the Palm Bay – Melbourne – Titusville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area...
. It is maintained by the Astronaut Memorial Foundation, whose offices are located in the NASA Center for Space Education next door to the Visitor Complex. The memorial was dedicated in 1991 to remember the lives of the men and women who have died
Death
Death is the permanent termination of the biological functions that sustain a living organism. Phenomena which commonly bring about death include old age, predation, malnutrition, disease, and accidents or trauma resulting in terminal injury....
in the various space programs of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, particularly those of NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
. The Space Mirror Memorial has been designated a National Memorial
National Memorial
National Memorial is a designation in the United States for a protected area that memorializes a historic person or event. National memorials are authorized by the United States Congress...
by the U.S. Congress.
In addition to 20 NASA career astronaut
Astronaut
An astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft....
s, the memorial includes the names of a U.S. Air Force X-15 test pilot, a U.S. Air Force officer who died while training for a then-classified military space program, a civilian spaceflight participant
Spaceflight participant
Spaceflight participant is the term used by National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the Russian Federal Space Agency for people who travel aboard space missions coordinated by those agencies who are not part of the crew...
who died in the Challenger disaster
Space Shuttle Challenger disaster
The Space Shuttle Challenger disaster occurred on January 28, 1986, when Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart 73 seconds into its flight, leading to the deaths of its seven crew members. The spacecraft disintegrated over the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of central Florida at 11:38 am EST...
, and an Israeli astronaut who was killed during the Columbia disaster
Space Shuttle Columbia disaster
The Space Shuttle Columbia disaster occurred on February 1, 2003, when shortly before it was scheduled to conclude its 28th mission, STS-107, the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated over Texas and Louisiana during re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere, resulting in the death of all seven crew members...
.
Memorial elements
Near the Space Mirror is a granite wall, bearing pictures and brief biographies of those listed on the Mirror.
The Astronaut Memorial was designed by Wes Jones of Holt Hinshaw Pfau Jones and was commissioned after he won an international design competition.
Memorial funding
The Astronauts Memorial Foundation and Space Mirror Memorial are funded in part by a specialty vehicle registration plateVehicle registration plate
A vehicle registration plate is a metal or plastic plate attached to a motor vehicle or trailer for official identification purposes. The registration identifier is a numeric or alphanumeric code that uniquely identifies the vehicle within the issuing region's database...
issued by the state of Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. Called the Challenger plate, it was first issued in 1987, and was the first (and, until recently, most popular) specialty plate issued by the state. The third edition, introduced in 2004, includes Columbia in the text, but is still termed the Challenger plate.
The memorial cost US$6.2 million.
License plates brought in $377,000 in 2009.
Operations
The president of the Astronaut Memorial Foundation has been Stephen FeldmanStephen Feldman
Stephen Feldman is an American academic, and was the third president of Nova Southeastern University. He became the President of Nova Southeastern University in 1992 and was president until 1994. He has been president of the Astronaut Memorial Foundation since 1999.He was President of Western...
since 1999. He was paid $303,000 annually. This was criticized as being the highest among 100 of Brevard County non-profits. The salary represents 18.3% of the fund's $1.8 million budget in fiscal year 2009. He defended his salary by saying that he is the sole fundraiser and the chief financial officer for the foundation.
Defunct sun tracking mechanism
The memorial, as built, incorporated motors and jackscrewJackscrew
A jackscrew is a type of jack which is operated by turning a leadscrew. In the form of a screw jack it is commonly used to lift heavy weights such as the foundations of houses, or large vehicles.-Advantages:...
s to constantly track the sun across the sky in both pan and tilt axes. Parabolic reflectors on the back side of the mirror would then direct the sunlight through the acrylic panels to brilliantly illuminate the honorees' names with sunlight. Supplemental floodlights were used when the sun was inadequate.
In 1997, the tracking system failed, allowing part of the monument to strike a steel beam on an adjacent platform. Insurance paid US$375,000 in repair work, but later, the mechanism again ground to a halt, due to further problems with the slewing ring.
Estimated repairs were on the order of US$700,000, and the Astronauts Memorial Foundation unanimously decided the money would be better spent on educational programs instead. The floodlights were therefore repositioned and are kept burning 24 hours a day.
Honorees
Only those killed during human spaceflightHuman spaceflight
Human spaceflight is spaceflight with humans on the spacecraft. When a spacecraft is manned, it can be piloted directly, as opposed to machine or robotic space probes and remotely-controlled satellites....
missions or during training for such missions sponsored by the United States are eligible for inclusion in the memorial. For a comprehensive list of space disasters, see List of space disasters.
The people honored on the memorial are:
- Theodore FreemanTheodore FreemanTheodore Cordy Freeman was a NASA astronaut and a captain in the United States Air Force. He was killed in the crash of a T-38 jet, marking the first fatality among the American astronaut corps...
, one of the "Astronaut Group 3Astronaut Group 3Astronaut Group 3 was the third group of astronauts selected by NASA. Their selection was announced in October 1963. Fourteen astronauts made up Group 3. Four died in training accidents before they could fly in space. All of the surviving ten flew in the Apollo program; five also flew Gemini...
" recruits from 1963, died in a T-38T-38 TalonThe Northrop T-38 Talon is a twin-engine supersonic jet trainer. It was the world's first supersonic trainer and is also the most produced. The T-38 remains in service as of 2011 in air forces throughout the world....
training accident on October 31, 1964. - Elliot See and Charles BassettCharles BassettCharles Arthur "Art" Bassett, II was an American engineer and United States Air Force officer. He was selected as a NASA astronaut in 1963 and assigned to Gemini 9 but died in an airplane crash during training for his first spaceflight.-Early life and education:Bassett was born in Dayton, Ohio,...
were killed in a T-38 accident on February 28, 1966 when their aircraft crashed into McDonnell Building 101 on a foggy day. They were originally slated to be the crew of Gemini 9. Bassett was another Group 3 recruit, whereas See was an Astronaut Group 2Astronaut Group 2NASA's Astronaut Group 2, also known as The New Nine, was the second group of astronauts selected by NASA in September 1962. The group was required to augment the original Mercury 7 with the announcement of the Gemini program and leading to the Apollo program...
recruit from 1962. - Virgil Grissom, Edward WhiteEdward Higgins WhiteEdward Higgins White, II was an engineer, United States Air Force officer and NASA astronaut. On June 3, 1965, he became the first American to "walk" in space. White died along with fellow astronauts Gus Grissom and Roger Chaffee during a pre-launch test for the first manned Apollo mission at...
and Roger Chaffee were in the Apollo 1Apollo 1Apollo 1 was scheduled to be the first manned mission of the Apollo manned lunar landing program, with a target launch date of February 21, 1967. A cabin fire during a launch pad test on January 27 at Launch Pad 34 at Cape Canaveral killed all three crew members: Command Pilot Virgil "Gus"...
capsule for plugs-out test on January 27, 1967 when a short circuit ignited flammable materials in the pressurized pure-oxygen atmosphere. The astronauts died of carbon monoxide poisoning before ground crews could reach them. Grissom, one of the "Mercury SevenMercury SevenMercury Seven was the group of seven Mercury astronauts selected by NASA on April 9, 1959. They are also referred to as the Original Seven and Astronaut Group 1...
" astronauts, had flown twice before. White conducted the first US spacewalk on Gemini 4Gemini 4Gemini 4 was the second manned space flight in NASA's Project Gemini, occurring in June 1965. It was the tenth manned American spaceflight . Astronauts James McDivitt and Edward H. White, II circled the Earth 66 times in four days, making it the first US flight to approach the five-day flight of...
. Chaffee, a rookie, was a Group 3 recruit. - Clifton WilliamsClifton WilliamsThis article is about the American astronaut. For the composer, see Clifton Williams .Clifton Curtis 'C.C.' Williams was a NASA astronaut, a Naval Aviator, and a Major in the United States Marine Corps who was killed in a plane crash; he had never been to space...
died in a T-38 training crash on October 5, 1967. Another Group 3 recruit, he was in the Apollo astronaut rotation, and would have been on the crew of Apollo 12Apollo 12Apollo 12 was the sixth manned flight in the American Apollo program and the second to land on the Moon . It was launched on November 14, 1969 from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, four months after Apollo 11. Mission commander Charles "Pete" Conrad and Lunar Module Pilot Alan L...
. He was also memorialized by a fourth star on the official Apollo 12 mission badge. - Michael J. Adams died in an X-15 crash on November 15, 1967. He was not a NASA astronaut recruit, but made the memorial by virtue of having earned the Astronaut BadgeAstronaut BadgeThe Astronaut Badge is a badge of the United States, awarded to military and civilian pilots who have completed training and performed a successful spaceflight...
according to the USAF standard by reaching just over 50 miles in altitude on his fatal flight. He was also in the United States Air ForceUnited States Air ForceThe United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
's Manned Orbiting LaboratoryManned Orbiting LaboratoryThe Manned Orbiting Laboratory , originally referred to as the Manned Orbital Laboratory, was part of the United States Air Force's manned spaceflight program, a successor to the cancelled Boeing X-20 Dyna-Soar military reconnaissance space plane project...
program. - Robert H. Lawrence, Jr.Robert Henry Lawrence, Jr.Robert Henry Lawrence, Jr. was a United States Air Force officer and the first African-American astronaut.-Early years:...
, died on December 8, 1967, when the F-104 he was testing crashed and his ejection seat parachute failed to open. He was in the Manned Orbiting LaboratoryManned Orbiting LaboratoryThe Manned Orbiting Laboratory , originally referred to as the Manned Orbital Laboratory, was part of the United States Air Force's manned spaceflight program, a successor to the cancelled Boeing X-20 Dyna-Soar military reconnaissance space plane project...
program at the time, and could have become among the first African-American astronauts had he survived to take NASA's offer for all under-35 MOL candidates to join their space program when MOL was scrapped in 1969. - On January 28, 1986, the Space Shuttle ChallengerSpace Shuttle ChallengerSpace Shuttle Challenger was NASA's second Space Shuttle orbiter to be put into service, Columbia having been the first. The shuttle was built by Rockwell International's Space Transportation Systems Division in Downey, California...
broke apart 73 seconds after liftoff on mission STS-51-LSTS-51-LSTS-51-L was the twenty-fifth flight of the American Space Shuttle program, which marked the first time an ordinary civilian, schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe, had flown aboard the Space Shuttle. The mission used Space Shuttle Challenger, which lifted off from the Launch Complex 39-B on 28 January...
. All seven crew members — Francis "Dick" ScobeeDick ScobeeFrancis Richard "Dick" Scobee was an American astronaut. He was killed commanding the Space Shuttle Challenger, which suffered catastrophic booster failure during launch of the STS-51-L mission.-Early life:...
, Michael J. Smith, Ronald McNairRonald McNairRonald Ervin McNair, Ph.D. was a physicist and NASA astronaut. McNair died during the launch of the Space Shuttle Challenger on mission STS-51-L.-Background:...
, Gregory JarvisGregory JarvisGregory Bruce Jarvis was an American engineer who died during the destruction of the Space Shuttle Challenger on mission STS-51-L, where he was serving as Payload Specialist.-Education:...
, Judith Resnik, Ellison OnizukaEllison Onizukawas a Japanese American astronaut from Kealakekua, Kona, Hawaii, who successfully flew into space with the Space Shuttle Discovery on STS-51-C, before losing his life to the destruction of the Space Shuttle Challenger, where he was serving as Mission Specialist for mission STS-51-L...
, and Christa McAuliffeChrista McAuliffeChrista McAuliffe was an American teacher from Concord, New Hampshire, and was one of the seven crew members killed in the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster....
— died. Scobee, McNair, Resnik and Onizuka had flown before. McAuliffe was participating via the Teacher in Space ProjectTeacher in Space ProjectThe Teacher in Space Project was a NASA program announced by Ronald Reagan in 1984 designed to inspire students, honor teachers, and spur interest in mathematics, science, and space exploration....
. - M. L. "Sonny" CarterSonny CarterManley Lanier "Sonny" Carter, Jr. was an American physician, professional soccer player, naval officer, and NASA astronaut who flew on STS-33.-Early life:...
died on April 5, 1991, in the crash of Atlantic Southeast AirlinesAtlantic Southeast AirlinesAtlantic Southeast Airlines is an American airline based in the A-Tech Center in College Park, Georgia, flying to 144 destinations as a Delta Connection carrier and, as of February 2010, commenced service as a United Express carrier. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of SkyWest, Inc. ASA operates...
Flight 2311Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 2311Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 2311 was a regularly scheduled commuter flight from Atlanta, Georgia to Brunswick, Georgia which suffered an uncontrolled collision with terrain during landing approach to Glynco Jetport , just north of Brunswick, on April 5, 1991. The aircraft was an Embraer...
. Carter was a passenger traveling on NASA business. He had flown on STS-33STS-33-Crew notes:S. David Griggs, the originally scheduled pilot for STS-33, died in a plane crash in June 1989, five months prior to the scheduled launch, and was replaced by John E...
and was in training for STS-42STS-42STS-42 was a Space Shuttle Discovery mission with the Spacelab module. Liftoff which was originally scheduled for 8:45 EST 22 January 1992, but the launch was delayed due to weather constraints. Discovery successfully lifted off an hour later at 9:52 EST . The main goal of the mission was to study...
at the time. - On February 1, 2003, the Space Shuttle ColumbiaSpace Shuttle ColumbiaSpace Shuttle Columbia was the first spaceworthy Space Shuttle in NASA's orbital fleet. First launched on the STS-1 mission, the first of the Space Shuttle program, it completed 27 missions before being destroyed during re-entry on February 1, 2003 near the end of its 28th, STS-107. All seven crew...
disintegrated on re-entry at the end of mission STS-107STS-107-Mission parameters:*Mass:**Orbiter Liftoff: **Orbiter Landing: **Payload: *Perigee: *Apogee: *Inclination: 39.0°*Period: 90.1 min- Insignia :...
due to damage during ascent. The crew was Rick D. Husband, William C. McCoolWilliam C. McCoolWilliam Cameron "Willie" McCool was a United States Navy Commander, NASA astronaut and the pilot of Space Shuttle Columbia mission STS-107...
, David M. Brown, Kalpana ChawlaKalpana ChawlaKalpana Chawla was an Indian-American astronaut with NASA. She was one of seven crew members killed in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster.-Early life:...
, Michael P. Anderson, Laurel Clark and Ilan RamonIlan RamonIlan Ramon was a fighter pilot in the Israeli Air Force, and later the first Israeli astronaut....
. Husband, Chawla and Anderson were veterans. Ramon was a pilot in the Israeli Air ForceIsraeli Air ForceThe Israeli Air Force is the air force of the State of Israel and the aerial arm of the Israel Defense Forces. It was founded on May 28, 1948, shortly after the Israeli Declaration of Independence...
.
External links
- The Astronauts Memorial Foundation official website
- Astronaut Memorial Space Mirror
- Astronaut Memorial at Find-A-Grave