On May 19, 1939, Francis “Dick” Scobee was born in Washington State. Scobee joined the Air Force at age 18, taking night courses to earn a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering and getting an officer’s commission and his pilot’s wings. After a combat tour in Vietnam and training at the Aerospace Research Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base, he became a test pilot.
In January 1978, NASA selected Scobee as part of the astronaut corps. His first mission was aboard Space Shuttle Challenger on STS-41C, which launched April 6, 1984. During their seven days in orbit, Scobee and his crewmates captured, repaired, and redeployed the Solar Maximum Satellite — the first successful satellite repair in space. His second spaceflight was as commander of the Challenger for mission STS-51-L. Seventy-three seconds after launch for that mission, on Jan. 28, 1986, Challenger exploded, killing Scobee and his six crewmates. After his death, his widow June worked with the families of other Challenger crew to found the Challenger Center, a nonprofit dedicated to STEM education and outreach.
