Francis Richard Scobee (May 19, 1939 – January 28, 1986) was an American

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the limit ...

, and astronaut. He was killed while he was commanding the Space Shuttle ''Challenger'' in 1986, which suffered catastrophic

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failure during launch of the STS-51-L mission. He held a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

degree in Aerospace Engineering, graduating from the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...

in 1965. He was a

reciprocating engine A reciprocating engine, also often known as a piston engine, is typically a heat engine that uses one or more reciprocating pistons to convert high temperature and high pressure into a rotating motion. This article describes the common fea ...

mechanic A mechanic is an artisan, skilled tradesperson, or technician who uses tools to build, maintain, or repair machinery, especially cars. Duties Most mechanics specialize in a particular field, such as auto body mechanics, air conditioning an ...

for the United States Air Force and served as a combat aviator in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

. Selected for

NASA Astronaut Corps The NASA Astronaut Corps is a unit of the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) that selects, trains, and provides astronauts as crew members for U.S. and international space missions. It is based at Johnson Space Ce ...

in January 1978, Scobee completed his training in August 1979. While awaiting his first

orbital spaceflight An orbital spaceflight (or orbital flight) is a spaceflight in which a spacecraft is placed on a trajectory where it could remain in space for at least one orbit. To do this around the Earth, it must be on a free trajectory which has an altit ...

mission, he 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 A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioi ...

and repaired another.

Early life

Scobee was born May 19, 1939, in

Cle Elum, Washington Cle Elum ( ) is a city in Kittitas County, Washington, United States. The population was 1,872 at the 2010 census. About by car from Seattle, Cle Elum is a popular area for camping and outdoor activities. History Native history Cle Elum wa ...

, to Francis William Scobee and Edlynn (Miller) Scobee, he attended Washington Elementary School, Cascade Jr. High School, and

Auburn Senior High School Auburn High School, formerly Auburn Senior High School, is a public high school in Auburn, Washington, United States, founded in 1903. The school is situated on of land in downtown Auburn. Its campus includes the Auburn Performing Arts Center (PAC ...

, from which he graduated in 1957.

Air Force service

Scobee enlisted in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...

in 1957, where he served as a

at Kelly Air Force Base in

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

. While off duty, he attended

San Antonio College San Antonio College (SAC) is a public community college in San Antonio, Texas. It is part of the Alamo Colleges District and the oldest public two-year college in Texas. The college has an average semester enrollment of 22,028 credit students an ...

, and eventually received a

degree in Aerospace Engineering from the

in 1965. He was a member of Tau Beta Pi. In 1965, he 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

. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, the

Air Medal The Air Medal (AM) is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. It was created in 1942 and is awarded for single acts of heroism or meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight. Criteria The Air Medal was establish ...

, and other decorations. After his tour of duty, Scobee attended the

USAF Aerospace Research Pilot School The U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School (USAF TPS) is the Air Force's advanced flight training school that trains experimental test pilots, flight test engineers, and flight test navigators to carry out tests and evaluations of new aerospace weap ...

(Class 71B) at Edwards Air Force Base, 100 miles north of

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California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. Upon graduation in 1972, he became an Air Force

test pilot A test pilot is an aircraft pilot with additional training to fly and evaluate experimental, newly produced and modified aircraft with specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques.Stinton, Darrol. ''Flying Qualities and Flight Testin ...

, logging thousands of hours of flight time in dozens of

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, including the Boeing 747, the experimental

X-24B The Martin Marietta X-24 was an American experimental aircraft developed from a joint United States Air Force-NASA program named PILOT (1963–1975). It was designed and built to test lifting body concepts, experimenting with the concept of u ...

lifting body A lifting body is a fixed-wing aircraft or spacecraft configuration in which the body itself produces lift. In contrast to a flying wing, which is a wing with minimal or no conventional fuselage, a lifting body can be thought of as a fuselage ...

, the

F-111 Aardvark The General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark is a retired supersonic, medium-range, Multirole combat aircraft, multirole combat aircraft. Production variants of the F-111 had roles that included attack aircraft, ground attack (e.g. Air interdiction, i ...

, and the gigantic

C-5 Galaxy The Lockheed C-5 Galaxy is a large military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed, and now maintained and upgraded by its successor, Lockheed Martin. It provides the United States Air Force (USAF) with a heavy intercontinental-rang ...

''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 Halley's Comet or Comet Halley, officially designated 1P/Halley, is a short-period comet visible from Earth every 75–79 years. Halley is the only known short-period comet that is regularly visible to the naked eye from Earth, and thus the on ...

and to inaugurate the

Teacher in Space Project The Teacher in Space Project (TISP) 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. The project would carry teachers into space ...

, 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 An O-ring, also known as a packing or a toric joint, is a mechanical gasket in the shape of a torus; it is a loop of elastomer with a round cross-section, designed to be seated in a groove and compressed during assembly between two or more par ...

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

June Scobee Rodgers at NSB awards ceremony (cropped)

His parents were Francis and Edlynn Scobee; he married Virginia June Kent (now June Scobee Rodgers; born 1942); he had two children, Kathie R. Scobee Fulgham and Lieutenant General Richard W. Scobee. He is buried in

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...

. June remarried in 1989 to retired Army LTG

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. Richard graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy, has flown F-16s for the

USAF The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...

, and has commanded the

506th Air Expeditionary Group The 506th Air Expeditionary Group (506 AEG) is a provisional United States Air Force unit. The group is assigned to the United States Air Forces Central 332d Air Expeditionary Wing, stationed at Joint Base Balad, Iraq. The 506 AEG secures the b ...

, 944th Fighter Wing, the

301st Fighter Wing The 301st Fighter Wing (301 FW) is an Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the United States Air Force. It is assigned to the Tenth Air Force, Air Force Reserve Command, stationed at Carswell Field, Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Tex ...

, the

10th Air Force The Tenth Air Force (10 AF) is a unit of the U.S. Air Force, specifically a numbered air force of the Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC). 10 AF is headquartered at Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base/Carswell Field (formerly Carswell ...

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

posthumous Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award - an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication – material published after the author's death * ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1987 * ''Posthumous'' ...

ly awarded the

Congressional Space Medal of Honor The Congressional Space Medal of Honor was authorized by the United States Congress in 1969 to recognize "any astronaut who in the performance of his or her duties has distinguished himself or herself by exceptionally meritorious efforts and con ...

and was inducted into the

Astronaut Hall of Fame The United States Astronaut Hall of Fame, located inside the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex Heroes & Legends building on Merritt Island, Florida, honors American astronauts and features the world's largest collection of their personal memor ...

. 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. Multiple flying fields in his honor Control line, remote control, Glider, free flight and more Scobee Road in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, along with

Ronald McNair Ronald Erwin McNair (October 21, 1950 – January 28, 1986) was an American NASA astronaut and physicist. He died during the launch of the Space Shuttle ''Challenger'' on mission STS-51-L, in which he was serving as one of three mission spec ...

Boulevard and

Christa McAuliffe Sharon Christa McAuliffe ( Corrigan; September 2, 1948 – January 28, 1986) was an American teacher and astronaut from Concord, New Hampshire, who was killed on the Space Shuttle ''Challenger'' on mission STS-51-L where she was serving as a ...

Street, commemorate Scobee and his fellow ''Challenger'' crew members. In Houston, Texas' George Bush Park, there is a R/C (Remote Controlled) Flying Field named in his honor. He was portrayed by

Barry Bostwick Barry Knapp Bostwick (born February 24, 1945) is an American actor. He is best known for portraying Brad Majors in the musical comedy horror film ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' (1975) and Mayor Randall Winston in the sitcom ''Spin City'' (199 ...

in the 1990 TV film '' Challenger''. He 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 was dedicated in a ceremony attended by his spouse, June.

References

External links

*
Francis R. Scobee – Arlington National Cemetery
Elementary school named in his honour.] {{DEFAULTSORT:Scobee, Dick 1939 births 1986 deaths University of Arizona alumni United States Air Force officers United States Air Force personnel of the Vietnam War 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)