SPECIAL HONORS: Navy Operational Flight Surgeon of the Year in 1986, Meritorious Service Medal, Navy Achievement Medal.
EXPERIENCE: Brown joined the 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 Airwing Fifteen which deployed aboard the USS Carl Vinson in the western Pacific. In 1988, he was the only flight surgeon in a ten year period to be chosen for pilot training. He was ultimately designated a naval aviator in 1990 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 in 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-18 Hornet and deployed from Japan in 1992 aboard the USS Independence flying the A-6E with VA-115. In 1995, he reported to the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School as their flight surgeon where he also flew the T-38 Talon.
Brown has logged over 2,700 flight hours with 1,700 in high performance military aircraft. He is qualified as first pilot in NASA T-38 aircraft.
NASA EXPERIENCE: Selected by NASA in April 1996, Brown reported to the Johnson Space Center in August 1996. Having completed two years of training and evaluation, he is eligible for flight assignment as a mission specialist. He was initially assigned to support payload development for the International Space Station, followed by the astronaut support team responsible for orbiter cockpit setup, crew strap-in, and landing recovery. He is currently assigned to the crew of STS-107 scheduled to launch in 2003.
Here are some excerpts from NASA's official pre-flight interview for STS-107:
I'm guessing that being a medical guinea pig probably isn't the main reason that you wanted to be an astronaut.
Well, you know, why would I want to do this? The great thing about being an astronaut is you kind of get to do a little bit of everything. I mean, we're going to ride a rocket uphill. There's not that many people that get to do that. We're going to have the most amazing views, looking out the window, of the Earth. And at the same time, we get to participate in some fundamental research that will contribute to some medical understanding, some basic physical sciences understanding, and a better understanding of the Earth and the Earth's atmosphere. And so I think that's just great, you know, that I get to do all of those things. And I wouldn't want to leave out any part of it.
So, those are the reasons that you wanted to be an astronaut?
Well, when I grew up, I get asked a lot, "Did you want to be an astronaut when you grew up?" And, I remember growing up thinking that astronauts and their job was the coolest thing you could possibly do. I remember, I was a little bit late for Mercury, but I remember Gemini and Apollo quite well in the Sixties, and then Skylab and early shuttle. But I absolutely couldn't identify with the people who were astronauts. I thought they were movie stars. And, I just thought I was kind of a normal kid. And so, I couldn't see a path, how a normal kid could ever get to be one of these people that I just couldn't identify with. And so, while I would've said, "Hey, this is like the coolest thing you could possibly do," it really wasn't something that I ever thought that I would end up doing. And, it was really kind of much later in life after I'd been in medical school, I'd gone on to become a Navy pilot, that I really thought, "Well, maybe I would have some skills and background that NASA might be interested in." And then, I went ahead and applied. So, I think growing up I really underestimated myself. And, I was really a bit wrong about things that I could do. And, I'm glad I figured out kind of later in life that if I wanted to pursue that, that I could.
What were the interests that you had growing up that helped put you on the road to a career with NASA?
Well, I think growing up, I was always interested in flying. Actually, I wasn't, I can't say that. I was interested in flying beginning at age seven, when a close family friend took me in his little airplane. And I remember looking at the wheel of the airplane as we rolled down the runway, because I wanted to remember the exact moment that I first went flying. And I do. I remember the exact moment when I saw that wheel lift off. So, that's really when the flying interest began for me. And, it was someone who took the time to take this kid in his airplane; and, boy, it sure set a bit in my head that's been there ever since. And the other thing growing up is that I was always interested in science. And I think the two of those kind of naturally worked out between the medical degree and then flying in the Navy that allowed me to come here. But it wasn't planned out. I pursued things that I was interested in. I don't think I was afraid of working hard and went down a path that I thought would be really challenging. And, lo and behold, this is where it ended up.
Are there other people who inspired you towards becoming an astronaut?
Well, I don't, I guess when I look back, there's a lot of people that have helped me get to where I am today. And their influence on me has allowed me to be able to be part of STS-107 and get to do these things that I'm really looking forward to. One of the ones, one of the people that I think stands out in my career was my college gymnastics coach. He was a fellow that really took, actually did (and still does), take a very long-term view of what athletics and education are all about. And, he's just been investing in people in that program ever since. When I look back now, and I think I understand a little more what he was doing now than at the time, he invests in people and gives a lot of his time and attention. He certainly did to me. I learned a lot about what it's to be, what it's like to be on a team. What you need to know to be on a team. About setting personal goals. And about kind of daily discipline to get to those goals.
The time that you spent in college doing gymnastics, was that one of the most enjoyable or memorable times of your life so far? Outside of NASA?
Well, when I think about one of the times when I was doing things that I just really enjoyed, it was when I was with the Navy in Nevada. I was working at a school there in Nevada and was getting to fly two different high-performance jets. I lived in kind of a rural area. I'd ride my bicycle to work, 13 miles each way past all these ranches and cows and alfalfa fields. I actually rode my bicycle about 2500 miles that year. And, that was, for a guy that likes to fly airplanes and be outside and do interesting stuff and be around challenging people, that was pretty neat, that four years I spent in the Navy in Nevada.
I was wondering: how common it is for a Naval flight surgeon to also fly high-performance jets, and how possessing that duality of talents has been beneficial for you.
When I was in medical school, I was thinking I would have a pretty traditional career in medicine. And then, one day I got a brochure that showed a Navy physician standing on a flight deck next to a F-4 Phantom. And, I said, "Boy, I've got to go learn about this!" So, I actually joined the Navy after my internship thinking that I was going to be a physician that took care of pilots. And, I did that for four years. And then, I heard about this program where you could actually go to flight training as a Navy physician. But, it wasn't very often implemented. Not very many people were accepted very often. So, I applied; and the first time, they said, "No, you're not going to do that." So, I thought, and I said, "Well, I really would like to do this." So I reapplied, and they said, "Yes." So, off I went as a medical guy off to Navy flight training and ended up flying (at the time in the Navy) a jet called the A-6. And now, here at NASA, the T-38, which has been an amazing experience. Again, not ever thinking that I would have a chance when I joined the military. As a physician and as a pilot, I think it lets me be a pretty good translator having one foot in the medical world and one foot in the flying world. Sometimes when the medical guys come in and speak medical stuff to the pilots, the pilots really don't know what they're saying. And vice versa. And I think the biggest benefit of having done both is that I speak both languages. And sometimes the answers are not quite as complicated as we think if you understand both halves of the problem that you're working on.
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