Editing Michael J. Smith

{{Short description|American astronaut (1945–1986)}}
{{About|the astronaut||Michael Smith (disambiguation){{!}}Michael Smith}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2024}}
{{More footnotes|date=January 2011}}
{{Infobox astronaut
|birth_name    = Michael John Smith
|image         = Michael Smith (NASA).jpg
|caption       = Smith in 1981
|birth_date    = {{birth date|1945|4|30}}
|birth_place   = [[Beaufort, North Carolina]], U.S.
|death_date    = {{death date and age|1986|1|28|1945|4|30}}
|death_place   = North Atlantic Ocean
|death_cause   = [[Space Shuttle Challenger disaster|Space Shuttle ''Challenger'' disaster]]
|restingplace  = [[Arlington National Cemetery]]
|education     = {{ubl|[[United States Naval Academy]] ([[Bachelor of Science|BS]])|[[Naval Postgraduate School]] ([[Master of Science|MS]])}}
|awards        = {{ubl|[[Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)|Distinguished Flying Cross]]|[[Congressional Space Medal of Honor]]|[[Air Medal]]}}
|type          = [[NASA astronaut]]
|rank          = [[Captain (United States O-6)|Captain]], [[United States Navy|USN]]
|selection     = [[NASA Astronaut Group 9|NASA Group 9 (1980)]]
|mission       = [[STS-51-L]]
|insignia      = [[File:STS-51-L-patch-small.png|50px]]
}}
'''Michael John Smith''' (April 30, 1945 – January 28, 1986), ([[Captain (United States O-6)|Capt]] [[United States Navy|USN]]) was an American [[engineer]] and [[astronaut]]. He served as the pilot of the [[Space Shuttle Challenger|Space Shuttle ''Challenger'']] when it [[Space Shuttle Challenger disaster|was destroyed]] during the [[STS-51-L]] mission, breaking up 73 seconds into the flight, and at an altitude of 48,000&nbsp;[[foot (length)|feet]] (14.6&nbsp;[[kilometre|km]]),<ref name="kerwin">{{cite web|url=https://history.nasa.gov/kerwin.html|title=''Challenger'' crew cause and time of death|author=Kerwin, Joseph P.|year=1986|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130103015825/https://history.nasa.gov/kerwin.html|archive-date=January 3, 2013|access-date=July 4, 2006}}</ref> killing all seven crew members. Smith's voice was the last one heard on the ''Challenger'' voice recorder.<ref name=":0">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/07/29/science/challenger-crew-knew-of-problem-data-now-suggest.html|title=Challenger Crew Knew of Problem, Data Now Suggest|last=Boffey|first=Philip M.|date=July 29, 1986|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=April 28, 2014}}</ref> 

During his Naval career, Smith flew 28 different types of civilian and military aircraft and logged 4,867 hours of flying time. Following the ''Challenger'' disaster, he was promoted posthumously by Congress to the rank of [[Captain (U.S. Navy)|captain]], and has had a chair named in his honor at the [[Naval Postgraduate School]] (NPS) in [[Monterey, California]].

==Early life and military career==
Smith was born April 30, 1945, in [[Beaufort, North Carolina]]. He graduated from Beaufort High School in 1963 and went on to receive a [[Bachelor of Science]] degree in Naval Science from the [[United States Naval Academy]] in 1967.

Smith subsequently attended the U.S. [[Naval Postgraduate School]] at [[Monterey, California]], from which he graduated with a [[Master of Science]] degree in [[Aeronautical Engineering]] in 1968. Smith was awarded a [[Marshall Scholarship]] and went on to complete naval aviation jet training at [[Naval Air Station Kingsville]], [[Texas]], receiving his [[United States Aviator Badge|aviator wings]] in May 1969. Smith was then assigned to the Advanced Jet Training Command ([[VT-21]]) where he served as an [[flight instructor|instructor]] from May 1969 to March 1971. During the two-year period that followed, Smith flew [[A-6 Intruder]]s and completed a tour in 1972 during the [[Vietnam War]] while assigned to Attack Squadron 52 ([[VA-52 (U.S. Navy)|VA-52]]) aboard the [[aircraft carrier]] {{USS|Kitty Hawk|CV-63|6}}. During his deployment with VA-52, Smith took part in [[Operation Linebacker]], the first continuous bombing effort conducted against North Vietnam since 1968.

After returning from Vietnam, Smith attended [[U.S. Naval Test Pilot School]] (NTPS), graduating from the program in 1974. Following NTPS, he was assigned to the Strike Aircraft Test Directorate at [[NAS Patuxent River]], [[Maryland]], to work on the A-6E TRAM and [[Cruise missile]] guidance systems. Smith returned to NTPS in 1976 and completed an 18-month assignment there as an instructor. From Patuxent River, he was assigned to Attack Squadron 75 ([[Attack Squadron 75 (United States Navy)|VA-75]]), serving as a maintenance and operations officer while completing two Mediterranean cruises aboard the aircraft carrier {{USS|Saratoga|CV-60|6}}.

During his time in the Navy, Smith flew 28 different types of civilian and military aircraft, cumulating in 4,867.7 hours of flying time.<ref name=nasabio>{{cite web|url=https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/smith_michael.pdf |title=MICHAEL J. SMITH (CAPTAIN, USN), NASA ASTRONAUT (DECEASED) |publisher=NASA |access-date=June 2, 2021}}</ref>

==Astronaut career==
Smith was selected for the astronaut program in May 1980; he served as a commander in the [[Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory]] (SAIL), Deputy Chief of Aircraft Operations Division, Technical Assistant to the Director, Flight Operations Directorate, and was also assigned to the Astronaut Office Development and Test Group. In addition to being pilot on the ''Challenger'', Smith had been slated to pilot a future Shuttle mission (STS-61-I) which had been scheduled for Fall 1986.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.astronautix.com/s/sts-61-i.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161228083319/http://astronautix.com/s/sts-61-i.html|archive-date=December 28, 2016|title=STS-61-I}}</ref> Smith's voice was the last one heard on the flight deck tape recorder aboard ''Challenger''; his final remark was "Uh oh."<ref name=":0" /> 

Following the ''Challenger'' disaster, examination of the recovered vehicle cockpit revealed that three of the crew members' [[Personal Egress Air Pack]]s were activated: those of Smith, mission specialist [[Judith Resnik]], and mission specialist [[Ellison Onizuka]]. The location of Smith's activation switch, on the back side of his seat, means that either Resnik or Onizuka could have activated it for him. Further investigation by Smith's wife, Jane Smith, proved to her that it was Onizuka who activated her husband's switch because Resnik's seat location was too far to reach Smith.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Higginbotham |first=Adam |title=Challenger: a true story of heroism and disaster on the edge of space |date=2024 |publisher=Avid Reader Press |isbn=978-1-9821-7661-7 |location=New York |page=439}}</ref> This is the only evidence available from the disaster that shows Onizuka and Resnik were alive after the cockpit separated from the vehicle. However, if the cabin had lost pressure, the packs alone would not have sustained the crew during the two-minute descent.

While analyzing the wreckage, investigators discovered that several electrical system switches on Smith's right-hand panel had been moved from their usual launch positions. Fellow Astronaut [[Richard Mullane]] wrote, "These switches were protected with lever locks that required them to be pulled outward against a spring force before they could be moved to a new position." Later tests established that neither the force of the explosion, nor the impact with the ocean could have moved them indicating that he made the switch changes, presumably in an attempt to restore electrical power to the cockpit after the crew cabin detached from the rest of the orbiter.<ref name=Mullane>{{Cite book | last = Mullane | first = Mike | author-link = Mike Mullane | title = Riding Rockets: The Outrageous Tales of a Space Shuttle Astronaut | publisher = [[Simon and Schuster]] | year = 2006 | page = 245 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=8X7ceB3QEWkC&pg=PA245 | isbn = 978-0-7432-7682-5 }}</ref>

== Family ==
He is survived by his wife, Jane (nee Jarrell), and three children, Scott, Allison and Erin.<ref name=":1" /> Michael enjoyed woodworking, running, tennis, and squash.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Former Astronauts - NASA |url=https://www.nasa.gov/humans-in-space/astronauts/former-astronauts/#Marshburn |access-date=2025-02-11 |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Recognition==
Smith was posthumously awarded the [[Congressional Space Medal of Honor]] in 2004, along with all crew members lost in the ''Challenger'' and [[Space Shuttle Columbia disaster|''Columbia'']] accidents.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://history.nasa.gov/spacemedal.htm|title=Congressional Space Medal of Honor|publisher=[[NASA]]|access-date=June 18, 2012}}</ref> He also received the [[Defense Distinguished Service Medal]] (posthumous), the Navy [[Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)|Distinguished Flying Cross]], three [[Air Medal]]s, 13 [[Air Medal|Strike/Flight Air Medals]], the [[Navy Commendation Medal]] with [["V" Device]], the [[Navy Unit Citation]], and the [[Gallantry Cross (Vietnam)|Vietnam Cross of Gallantry]] with Silver Star.

The [[Michael J. Smith Field]] airfield in his hometown of [[Beaufort, North Carolina]] is named after Smith.

Smith was portrayed by [[Brian Kerwin]] in the 1990 TV movie ''[[Challenger (1990 film)|Challenger]]''.

==See also==
*[[Space Shuttle Challenger disaster|Space Shuttle ''Challenger'' disaster]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}


==External links==
*[http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/michaelj.htm Michael J. Smith - Arlington National Cemetery]
* {{cite web|url=https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/smith_michael.pdf |title=MICHAEL J. SMITH (CAPTAIN, USN), NASA ASTRONAUT (DECEASED) |publisher=NASA |access-date=June 2, 2021}}

{{Congressional Space Medal of Honor}}
{{STS-51L}}

{{NASA Astronaut Group 9}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Michael J.}}
[[Category:1945 births]]
[[Category:1986 deaths]]
[[Category:Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in the United States]]
[[Category:American astronauts]]
[[Category:People from Beaufort, North Carolina]]
[[Category:United States Naval Academy alumni]]
[[Category:Military personnel from North Carolina]]
[[Category:Naval Postgraduate School alumni]]
[[Category:United States Navy captains]]
[[Category:United States Naval Aviators]]
[[Category:United States Navy personnel of the Vietnam War]]
[[Category:American test pilots]]
[[Category:Space Shuttle program astronauts]]
[[Category:Space Shuttle Challenger disaster victims]]
[[Category:Burials at Arlington National Cemetery]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Congressional Space Medal of Honor]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Air Medal]]
[[Category:American recipients of the Gallantry Cross (Vietnam)]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal]]