Michael Phillip Anderson (December 25, 1959 - February 1, 2003) is a United States Air Force officer and NASA astronaut. Anderson and six of his crew members were killed in the Columbia Space Shuttle disaster when the aircraft crashed when it reentered Earth's atmosphere. Anderson served as the cargo commander and lieutenant colonel who was in charge of the science experiments at Columbia . Anderson was posthumously awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor.
Video Michael P. Anderson
Early life and education
Anderson was born in 1959 by Barbara Anderson and Bobbie Anderson, serving jets at Plattsburgh Air Force Base near Plattsburgh, New York. Bobbie Anderson moved to Fairchild Air Force Base, about 12 miles away from Spokane, Washington, called Anderson as his hometown. He graduated from Cheney High School, one of four African Americans in a class of 200 students.
In 1981, Anderson earned a Bachelor of Science degree in physics and astronomy from the University of Washington in Seattle, and in 1990 he earned a Master of Science degree in physics from Creighton University in Omaha.
Maps Michael P. Anderson
Air Force career
After Anderson graduated from the University of Washington, he was assigned a second lieutenant in the US Air Force. After completing a year of technical training at Keesler Air Force Base in Mississippi, he was assigned to Randolph Air Force Base in Texas. At Randolph he served as head of communications maintenance for the 2015 Communication Squadron and later as director of information systems maintenance for the 1920 Information Systems Group.
In 1986, he was elected to attend the Graduate Pilot Training at Vance Air Force Base, Oklahoma. After graduating he was assigned to the Air Force Command and 2d Control Squadron, Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska as the EC-135 pilot, flew command post command of the Strategic Command airfield called "Looking Glass." He completed his master's degree when placed in Offutt.
From January 1991 to September 1992, he served as commander of aircraft and pilot instructor at 920 Air Fuel Squad, Wurtsmith Air Force Base, Michigan.
From September 1992 to February 1995 he was assigned as a pilot instructor and tactical officer at Air Filling Wing 380, Plattsburgh Air Force Base, New York.
Anderson has logged more than 3,000 hours of flight time when NASA selected him for astronaut training in December 1994. He is one of 19 candidates selected from a pool of 2,962 applicants.
Special rewards
- Dear scholar, USAF Electronic Communications Lecturer
- Association of Academic Communications Armed Forces Academic Excellence Award
- Undergraduate Academic Graduate Academic Achievement Award for Grade 87-08 Vance AFB
NASA
Anderson reported to Johnson Space Center in March 1995. He completed a year of training and evaluation, and qualified for the assignment of flight crew as a mission specialist. Anderson originally assigned technical tasks at the Aviation Support Branch of the Astronaut Office, but proceeded to log over 593 hours in space over two Space Shuttle missions.
Space spacial space Space Shuttle
Endeavor
STS-89 Endeavor (January 22-31, 1998). Anderson is a mission specialist at STS-89, the Eighth Miracle Station's docking mission, where the crew sends over 9,000 pounds of scientific equipment, logistics hardware and water.
In the fifth and final exchange of US astronauts, STS-89 sent Andy Thomas to Mir and returned with David Wolf. The mission duration is 8 days, 19 hours, and 47 seconds, traveling 3.6 million miles in 138 Earth orbit.
Colombia
STS-107 Space Shuttle Columbia (January 16 - February 1, 2003). Anderson served as the cargo commander and lieutenant colonel in charge of science experiments at Columbia , NASA's oldest space shuttle. On February 1, 2003, the shuttle returned to Earth after a successful 16-day journey into orbit, where the crew had conducted over 80 scientific experiments.
Unbeknownst to his crew, the orbiter suffered critical damage during its launch on January 16, when the foam from the fuel tank insulation fell and tore a hole in Columbia's left wing. During re-entry, the hole allows super-hot atmospheric gas to penetrate the orbiting wing, leading to its destruction. The mission duration is 15 days, 22 hours, and 20 minutes.
The Columbia Accident Investigation Board reports that, in addition to the physical damage of Columbia ', the NASA management culture is partly responsible for the disaster.
Quotes
Prior to the recent launch of Columbia , Anderson told reporters: "There's always something unknown."
Personal life
Anderson survived by his wife, Sandra Hawkins, and two daughters, ages 9 and 11 at the time of his death. He also survived by his parents and three sisters.
Anderson and his family lived in Houston at the time of his death, where they attended the Grace Community Church. Anderson sang tenor in the church choir.
Awards
Inheritance and tribute
- State Route 904, ran through Cheney, Washington, where he graduated from high school, named in his memory.
- The science and mathematical wing of Cheney High School is dedicated to his memory.
- Asteroid 51824 Mikeanderson is posthumously named after Anderson.
- Anderson Hall, at the Columbia Village apartment at the Florida Institute of Technology named after him.
- Anderson Plaza, the green space in front of the Hixson-Lied Science Center at Creighton University was named after him in a compromise between student bodies, who wanted a Science Center named Anderson, and the administration that had sold the Hixson-Lied family.
- The Blair Elementary School at Fairchild Air Force Base in Washington was named Michael Anderson Elementary School in January 2004. Anderson attended school as a fifth grader.
- Avondale Elementary School in Avondale, Arizona is named after Michael Anderson Elementary in his honor. She went to school there when she was in Year 3, and one of the T-shirt schools was on board the Columbia ship on her last voyage.
- In 2003 he was inducted into International Friendship Forests, at Atchison, KS as part of a warning for the Columbia astronauts .
- Anderson Park in Canton, Mississippi was dedicated in June 2004.
- The open bronze sculpture Anderson was unveiled in Spokane in June 2005. Larger than life, it was made by local artist Dorothy Fowler, and showed Anderson kneeling with his helmet in one hand and dove in the other./li>
- Duplicate statues are dedicated at the Aviation Museum in Seattle in June 2009 and the museum launches aerospace programs in his honor.
See also
- List of African-American astronauts
- Space Shuttle Columbia disaster
- Space science
References
External links
- NASA's Biography
- Michael Anderson STS-107 Crew Memorial
- Florida Today - Florida Tech dedicated the dormitory to Columbia 7 - 29 October 2003
- Chicago Alliance Participation for Minority Participation Address by Major Michael P. Anderson
- Spacefacts biography from Michael P. Anderson
- Aviation Museum: Michael P. Anderson Memorial Aerospace Program
- HistoryLink.org: Michael P. Anderson
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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