US Astronaut. Born in Lake City, South Carolina, he was a Doctor of Physics when selected as astronaut candidate by NASA in January 1978. After he completed a one year training and evaluation period, he was placed for assignment as mission specialist astronaut on Space Shuttle flight crews. He flew as mission specialist on STS 41-B launched from Kennedy Space Center on February 3, 1984, which landed at Kennedy Space Center on February 11, 1984. On January 28, 1986, he was mission specialist on the Space Shuttle Challenger when killed with all the crew members during a launch explosion from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida. A variety of public places and the McNair crater on the Moon are named in his honor. (bio by: John “J-Cat” Griffith)