William Edgar Thornton (April 14, 1929 – January 11, 2021) was an American NASA astronaut. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in physics from University of North Carolina and a doctorate in medicine, also from UNC. He flew on Challenger twice, the STS-8 and STS-51-B missions.
Early life and education
William Edgar Thornton was born on April 14, 1929. He attended primary and secondary schools in Faison, North Carolina. He received a bachelor of science degree in physics from the University of North Carolina (UNC) in 1952. with NASA Astronaut Group 6. He completed the required flight training at Reese Air Force Base, Texas. Thornton was physician crew member on the highly successful Skylab Medical Experiments Altitude Test (SMEAT)—a 56-day simulation of a Skylab mission enabling crewmen to collect medical experiments baseline data and evaluate equipment, operations, and procedures. Thornton was also the mission specialist on SMD III, a simulation of a Spacelab life sciences mission. His work concentrated on the space adaptation syndrome, with relevant investigations on STS-4, STS-5, STS-6, STS-7, and STS-8. He became the oldest person to fly in space.
STS-51B
STS-51B/Spacelab-3 Challenger (April 29 to May 6, 1985). The Spacelab-3 science mission was launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, and returned for a night landing at Edwards Air Force Base, California. During the 7-day flight, Thornton was responsible for the first animal payload on a shuttle mission
Post-NASA career
Thornton retired from NASA effective May 31, 1994. Thornton was later a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, and was an adjunct professor at the University of Houston–Clear Lake. He donated his NASA papers and archives to the North Carolina State Archives in 2010.