David M. Brown

David McDowell Brown
NASA Astronaut
Nationality	American
Status	Deceased
Born	(1956-04-16)April 16, 1956 Arlington County, Virginia
Died	February 1, 2003(2003-02-01) (aged 46) Over Texas
Previous occupation	Test pilot
Rank	Captain, USN
Time in space	15d 22h 20m
Selection	NASA Astronaut Group 16 (1996)
Missions	STS-107
Mission insignia

David McDowell Brown (April 16, 1956 – February 1, 2003) was a United States Navy captain and a NASA astronaut. He died on his first spaceflight, when the Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-107) disintegrated during orbital reentry into the Earth's atmosphere. Brown became an astronaut in 1996, but had not served on a space mission prior to the Columbia disaster.

Brown, the 1986 recipient of the Navy Operational Flight Surgeon of the Year award, received numerous decorations including:

The ^† symbol indicates a posthumous award.

Brown joined the U.S. Navy after his internship at the Medical University of South Carolina. Upon completion of flight surgeon training in 1984, he reported to the Navy Branch Hospital in Adak, Alaska, as Director of Medical Services. He was then assigned to Carrier Air Wing Fifteen which deployed aboard the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson in the Western Pacific. In 1988, he became the only flight surgeon in a ten-year period to be chosen for pilot training. He was ultimately designated a Naval Aviator in 1990 at NAS Chase Field in Beeville, Texas, ranking number one in his class. Brown was then sent for training and carrier qualification in the A-6E Intruder. In 1991, he reported to the Naval Strike Warfare Center at NAS Fallon, Nevada, where he served as a Strike Leader Attack Training Syllabus Instructor and a Contingency Cell Planning Officer. Additionally, he was qualified in the F/A-18 Hornet and deployed from Japan in 1992 aboard USS Independence flying the A-6E with VA-115. In 1995, he reported to the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School at NAS Patuxent River, Maryland as their flight surgeon where he also flew the T-38 Talon.