Anniversary of the Moon Walk: 10 African American Space Pioneers

(Image: NASA.gov)

Michael Anderson

U.S. Astronaut Michael Anderson was killed Feb. 1, 2003 over the southern United States when Space Shuttle Columbia and her crew perished during entry, 16 minutes prior to scheduled landing. He is survived by his wife, Sandy Anderson and children.

Selected by NASA in December 1994, Anderson reported to the Johnson Space Center in March 1995. He completed a year of training and evaluation, and was qualified for flight crew assignment as a mission specialist. Anderson was initially assigned technical duties in the Flight Support Branch of the Astronaut Office. Anderson flew on STS-89 and STS-107, logging over 593 hours in space.