William Cameron "Willie" McCool (né Graham; September 23, 1961 – February 1, 2003) was an American naval officer and aviator, test pilot, aeronautical engineer, and NASA astronaut, who was the pilot of Space Shuttle Columbia mission STS-107. He and the rest of the crew of STS-107 were killed when Columbia disintegrated during reentry into the atmosphere. McCool was posthumously awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor.

Early life and education

McCool was born on September 23, 1961, in San Diego, California. His parents divorced when McCool was young, and in 1969, his mother married Barent McCool, a Naval aviator. McCool attended John F. Kennedy High School in Tamuning, Guam from 1967 to 1977. His family relocated to Lubbock, Texas, where he graduated from Coronado High School in 1979.

McCool then enrolled at the United States Naval Academy, where he served as team captain of the U.S. Naval Academy Cross Country team his senior year. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Applied Science in 1983, graduating second of 1,083 in his class.

NASA experience

Selected by NASA in April 1996, McCool reported to the Johnson Space Center the following August.

STS-107's mission ended abruptly on February 1, 2003, when Space Shuttle Columbia broke up over the southern United States during re-entry, 16 minutes before scheduled landing. All seven crew members were killed.

McCool was posthumously awarded the NASA Space Flight Medal, the NASA Distinguished Service Medal, the Defense Distinguished Service Medal (DDSM), and the Congressional Space Medal of Honor.

McCool was survived by his wife, Lani, and their three sons. He is buried in Anacortes, Washington, where he lived at the time of his death.

Honors

  • Awarded Navy Commendation Medal (2)

thumb|Commander William C. McCool School in [[Sånta Rita-Sumai, Guam]]

  • Asteroid 51829 Williemccool was posthumously named for McCool.
  • Lunar crater McCool is named after him.
  • McCool Hill in the Columbia Hills on Mars was posthumously named for McCool.
  • McCool Hall, in the Columbia Village apartments at the Florida Institute of Technology, is named after him.
  • Guam South Elementary/Middle School, a DoDEA school in Santa Rita, Guam, was renamed CDR William C. McCool Elementary/Middle School on August 29, 2003.
  • Willie McCool Track and Field at Coronado High School in Lubbock, Texas, was posthumously named for McCool.
  • The William McCool Science Center, located on the campus of the Frank Lamping Elementary School in Henderson, Nevada, is a facility where elementary students throughout the Clark County School District have an opportunity to learn about space and other fields of science.
  • A Gawad Kalinga village in Moncada, Tarlac, Philippines, will be named "USN Commander Willie McCool GK Village".
  • In the Star Trek book Mirror Universe – Glass Empires, the shuttlecraft of the U.S.S. Defiant in the short story "Age of the Empress" is named the McCool.
  • McCool Track at the Naval Academy Preparatory School, Naval Station Newport, Rhode Island is named after him.
  • McCool Hall, located on Tinker AFB, Oklahoma is a Navy Bachelors Enlisted Quarters named after McCool.
  • Camp McCool, located in Bagram Airfield, was the home of rotating EA-6B Prowler Squadrons supporting ISAF in Afghanistan.
  • The FAA named a Fix/Waypoint MCCUL near Naval Air Station Whidbey Island (also near Anacortes, WA) located at 48 13.11N, 123 07.03W. Navy pilots are routinely vectored to the McCool waypoint.
  • The McCool Breakthrough Award is named after Willie McCool and is given to an individual who has made a significant breakthrough in the spirit of ICHRIE's mission.
  • The Commander William C. McCool Academy is Lubbock ISD’s newest magnet middle school.

See also

  • List of Eagle Scouts
  • List of spaceflight-related accidents and incidents
  • Space Shuttle Columbia disaster

References

  • Astronautix biography of William C. McCool
  • Spacefacts biography of William C. McCool
  • William C. McCool at Astronauts Memorial page