Topic: Rick Husband

Richard Douglas "Rick" Husband (July 12, 1957 – February 1, 2003) was an astronaut and the space shuttle commander of STS-107 (Columbia) who was killed when the craft disintegrated after reentry into the Earth's atmosphere. Husband is a recipient of the Congressional Space Medal of Honor.

Husband was born in Amarillo, Texas. He attended Belmar Elementary, Crockett Junior High School, and he graduated from Amarillo High School in 1975. Husband received a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering from Texas Tech University in 1980, and a master of science degree also in mechanical engineering from California State University, Fresno in 1990. His wife Evelyn details her Christian life with Rick and his struggles to fulfill his lifelong dream to become an astronaut in the 2004 book High Calling: The Courageous Life and Faith of Space Shuttle Columbia Commander Rick Husband by Evelyn Husband and co-written by Donna VanLiere. The Husbands have two children, a daughter Laura and a son Matthew. Evelyn remarried Bill Thompson in January 2008 and was the keynote speaker for the memorial ceremony at the Astronaut Memorial "Space Mirror" at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, five years after the Space Shuttle Columbia tragedy. (Source-Florida Today, February 1, 2008)

After graduating from Texas Tech University, Husband was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Air Force and attended pilot training at Vance Air Force Base (AFB) in Oklahoma. He finished his training there in October 1981, and was assigned to F-4 Phantom II training at Homestead Air Force Base in Florida. After completion of F-4 training in September 1982, Husband was assigned to Moody Air Force Base in Georgia flying the F-4E. From September to November 1985, he attended F-4 Instructor School at Homestead AFB and was assigned as an F-4E instructor pilot and academic instructor at George AFB, California in December 1985.