Most people do not realize that a total of 33 graduates of the Naval Postgraduate School have become astronauts; more than any other graduate school in the country. 

Sadly, two of these astronauts perished in the two Space Shuttle accidents; Challenger, STS-51L, on January 28, 1986 and Columbia, STS-107, on February 1, 2003. To honor those NPS astronauts who lost their lives in these disasters, the Space Systems Academic Group at the Naval Postgraduate School established an annual award, the Astronaut Michael J. Smith, CAPT, USN, and Astronaut William C. McCool, CDR, USN Astronautics Award

The award is presented annually at NPS to an outstanding graduate of the Space Systems curriculum.  Selection criteria for this award include the student’s overall academic excellence, applicable extra-curricular activities, and career potential.

The goal is to raise approximately $9000 to $10,000.  The interest from this endowment would support a modest cash award for the selected student each year.

While there are several projects that have been established to honor Mike and Willie, I hope that you find this award worthy of your tax-deductible donation as well.  A donation of $100 or even a little more will go a long way to making this a meaningful award, bringing Mike’s and Willie’s names and sacrifice in front of the students here at NPS every year.

Captain Michael J. Smith, USN, earned an MS in aeronautical engineering from NPS in 1968. Selected as an astronaut candidate in 1980, his initial flight, on Challenger, ended in tragedy on January 28, 1986 shortly after launch. 

http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/smith-michael.html

Commander William “Willie” McCool, USN, received his MS in aeronautical engineering from NPS in 1992 and reported to NASA for astronaut training in 1996.  After 17 days in space on his first mission, he perished shortly before landing on February 1, 2003, as pilot of Columbia.

http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/mccool.html

Other NPS Alumni

Name	Year selected as astronaut	Year grad NPS	NPS Degree	Mission(s) flown / Notes
Eugene Cernan	1963	1964	Aeronautical Engineering	Gemini IX, Apollo 10, 17
Gerald Carr	1966	1961	Aeronautical Engineering (BS)	Skylab 4
Ronald Evans	1966	1964	Aeronautical Engineering	Apollo 17
Jack Lousma	1966	1965	Aeronautical Engineering	Skylab 3, STS 3
Edgar Mitchell	1966	1961	Aeronautical Engineering	Apollo 14
Paul Weitz	1966	1964	Aeronautical Engineering	Skylab 2, STS 6
Bob Overmyer	1969	1964	Aeronautical Engineering	STS 5, 51B
Mike Coats	1978	1979	Aeronautical Engineering	STS 41D, 29, 39
Jon McBride	1978	1971	Aeronautical Engineering	STS 41G
Dave Hilmers	1980	1978	Electrical Engineering	STS 51J, 26, 36, 42
Dave Leestma	1980	1972	Aeronautical Engineering	STS 41G, 28, 45
Michael Smith	1980	1968	Aeronautical Engineering	STS 51L (Challenger accident)
Bob Springer	1980	1971	Ops Research and Systems Analysis	STS 29, 38
Ken Reightler	1987	1984	Aeronautical Engineering	STS 48, 60
Dan Bursch	1990	1991	Engineering Science	STS 51, 68, 77, 108, ISS 4, 111
Brent Jett	1992	1989	Aero Engineering/USNTPS Coop	STS 72, 81, 97, 115
Mike Lopez-Alegria	1992	1988	Aero Engineering/USNTPS Coop	STS 73, 92, 113, ISS 14 (soyuz)
Kent Rominger	1992	1987	Aero Engineering/USNTPS Coop	STS 73, 80, 85, 96, 100
Winston Scott	1992	1980	Aeronautical Engineering	STS 72, 87
Scott Altman	1995	1990	Aero Engineering/USNTPS Coop	STS 90, 106, 109
Carlos Noriega	1995	1990	Computer Science / Space System Ops	STS 84, 97
Bob Curbeam	1995	1990	Aero Engineering/USNTPS Coop	STS 85, 98, 116
Steve Frick	1996	1994	Aero Engineering/USNTPS Coop	STS 110 (sched CDR 122)
Mark Kelly	1996	1994	Aero Engineering/USNTPS Coop	STS 108, 121 (sched CDR 124)
John Herrington	1996	1995	Aeronautical Engineering	STS 113
William McCool	1996	1992	Aero Engineering/USNTPS Coop	STS 107 (Columbia accident)
Lisa Nowak	1996	1992	Aeronautical Engineering	STS 121
Jeff Williams	1996	1987	Aeronautical Engineering	STS 101, ISS 13 (soyuz)
Chris Ferguson	1998	1992	Aero Engineering/USNTPS Coop	STS 155 (sched CDR 126)
Mike Foreman	1998	1986	Aeronautical Engineering	(sched STS 123)
Ken Ham	1998	1996	Aero Engineering/USNTPS Coop	(sched STS 124)
Al Poindexter	1998	1995	Aero Engineering/USNTPS Coop	(sched STS 122)
Marcos Pontes	1998	1998	Systems Engineering	Soyuz Taxi, up with Jeff Williams

*deceased are in bold

To donate, please call the NPS Foundation office at (831) 656-2339. We will be more than happy to help you with your donation. Remember to state that your donation is for the “Smith / McCool Award”.  If mailing a check, please send it to the address below and make checks payable to NPS Foundation, Inc.

NPSFI

P.O. Box 8626

Monterey, CA  93943