Michael J. Smith

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Michael J. Smith
Smith in 1981
Born	Michael John Smith (1945-04-30)April 30, 1945 Beaufort, North Carolina, U.S.
Died	January 28, 1986(1986-01-28) (aged 40) North Atlantic Ocean
Resting place	Arlington National Cemetery
Education	United States Naval Academy (BS) Naval Postgraduate School (MS)
Awards	Distinguished Flying Cross Congressional Space Medal of Honor Air Medal
Space career
NASA astronaut
Rank	Captain, USN
Selection	NASA Group 9 (1980)
Missions	STS-51-L (disaster)
Mission insignia

Michael John Smith (April 30, 1945 – January 28, 1986), (Capt USN) was an American engineer and astronaut. He served as the pilot of the Space Shuttle Challenger when it was destroyed during the STS-51-L mission, breaking up 73 seconds into the flight, and at an altitude of 48,000 feet (14.6 km),^[1] killing all seven crew members. Smith's voice was the last one heard on the Challenger voice recorder.^[2]

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, and has had a chair named in his honor at the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) in Monterey, California.