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William McCool

by Whiitaka from Troy

A picture of William McCool in uniform (NASA webpage)
A picture of William McCool in uniform (NASA webpage)

William McCool was born on September 23, 1961 in San Diego. He was the pilot of the space shuttle Columbia. He became a pilot for the astronaut program in 1961. He is known for Columbia, too. Columbia made the shuttle program's first flight into space in 1981 and lifted off for its 28th mission, sts-107, on January 16,2003.

What made him want to be a pilot, you may ask? He wanted to be a space shuttle pilot because he was a commander in the U.S. Navy. He was educated at the U.S. Naval Academy. He earned a master's degree in computer science in 1985 and another one in aeronautical engineering from the U.S. Naval Postgradute School in 1992.

He lived in San Diego until 1996. On February 1, 2003 William McCool and his crew died. The shuttle exploded, killing all astronauts aboard. Rick Husband was the commander, William McCool was the pilot, Michael Anderson was the payload commander, David Brown was the mission specialist No.1, Kalpona Chawla was the mission specialist No.2, Laurel Blair was the mission specialist No.4, and IIan Ramon was the Payload specialist No.1.

My life is better because of William McCool and his work. I am also able to be the pilot of a space craft and get a master's degree in computer science and aeronautical engineering. But, I think a teacher is the job for me.

Page created on 1/6/2011 12:00:00 AM

Last edited 1/6/2011 12:00:00 AM

The beliefs, viewpoints and opinions expressed in this hero submission on the website are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the beliefs, viewpoints and opinions of The MY HERO Project and its staff.

Related Links

NASA website - This site gives a biography of McCool.
ABC News website - This site tells about his father's impact on McCool's life.
 

Author Info

I picked William McCool because I think he's inspiring. I also picked him because Columbia had lifted off for their 28th mission on January 16, 2003.