Mark N. Brown

Brown was born November 18, 1951, in Valparaiso, Indiana, to Mr. and Mrs. Richard S. Brown.{{Cite web |date=November 25, 2022 |title=Brown, Mark N. (Mark Neil), 1951- |url=https://archives.lib.purdue.edu/agents/people/1302 |access-date=November 25, 2022 |website=Purdue University Archives}} His recreational interests include fishing, hiking, jogging, all sports and chess. He married the former Lynne A. Anderson of River Grove, Illinois; they have two daughters.{{cite web |title=Biographical Data: Mark N. Brown |url=https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/brown_mark_1.pdf |website=NASA |accessdate=July 24, 2019 |location=Texas, USA}}

• 1969: Graduated from Valparaiso High School, Valparaiso, Indiana
• 1973: Received a Bachelor of Science degree in aeronautical and astronautical engineering from Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana
• 1980: Received a Master of Science degree in astronautical engineering from the U.S. Air Force Institute of Technology of Air University, Dayton, Ohio

Following graduation from Purdue in 1973, Brown was commissioned in the U.S. Air Force and received his pilot wings at Laughlin Air Force Base, Texas, in 1974. He was then assigned to the 87th Fighter Interceptor Squadron at K.I. Sawyer Air Force Base, Michigan, where he flew both T-33 and F-106 aircraft.{{Cite web |title=Astronaut Appearance Schedule {{!}} Meet an Astronaut {{!}} Kennedy Space Center {{!}} Mark Brown |url=https://www.kennedyspacecenter.com/launches-and-events/events-calendar/2022/december/meet-astronaut-mark-brown |access-date=2022-11-25 |website=www.kennedyspacecenter.com}} Brown graduated from the Squadron Officer School at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama, in 1975. He was transferred to the U.S. Air Force Institute of Technology at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, and earned his master's degree in astronautical engineering in 1980. Two years later, he graduated from the Air Command and Staff College at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama.

Brown was assigned to the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in 1980. Assigned as an engineer in the Flight Activities Section, he participated in the development of contingency procedures for use aboard the Space Shuttle and served as an attitude and pointing officer. Brown supported STS-2, STS-3, STS-4, STS-6, STS-8 and STS-41-C in the Flight Activity Officer/Staff Support Room of the Mission Control Center.

Brown became an astronaut in June 1985 after being selected in May 1984, and qualified for assignment as a mission specialist on future Space Shuttle flight crews. In December 1985, he was assigned to the crew of STS-61-N, a Department of Defense mission which was canceled due to the Challenger disaster. During 1986 and 1987, he was an astronaut member of the solid rocket booster redesign team. In February 1988, Brown was assigned to STS-28, flying on 8 August 1989, after which he served as astronaut member on the Space Station Freedom program, which was later canceled. He next flew on STS-48 on 12 September 1991. Brown had logged over 249 hours in space after flying two missions.

On his first space flight, Brown was a mission specialist on the crew of STS-28. The orbiter Columbia was launched from Kennedy Space Center on August 8, 1989.{{Cite web |title=Air Force Col. Mark N. Brown, 39; Discovery astronaut |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1991/09/12/Air-Force-Col-Mark-N-Brown-39-Discovery-astronaut/8597684648000/ |access-date=2022-11-25 |website=UPI |language=en}} The mission carried Department of Defense payloads and a number of secondary payloads. After 80 orbits of the Earth, this five-day mission concluded with a dry lakebed landing on Runway 17 at Edwards Air Force Base, California, on 13 August 1989.

Brown also flew on STS-48 aboard Discovery on 12 September 1991. This was a five-day mission during which the crew deployed the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) which is designed to provide scientists with their first complete data set on the upper atmosphere's chemistry, winds and energy inputs. The crew also conducted numerous secondary experiments ranging from growing protein crystals to studying how fluids and structures react in weightlessness. The mission was accomplished in 81 orbits of the Earth and concluded with a landing at Edwards Air Force Base on September 18, 1991.

Brown left NASA in July 1993 and retired from the U.S. Air Force to head the Space Division office of General Research Corporation in Dayton, Ohio.

• Air Force Command Pilot
• Senior Space Badge
• Defense Superior Service Medal
• Air Force Commendation Medals (2)
• Air Force Outstanding Unit Award
• Combat Readiness Medal
• National Defense Service Medal
• Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon
• NASA Space Flight Medal
• Distinguished Graduate from Air Force ROTC
• Aerospace Defense Command "We Point With Pride" Award

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• [https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/brown_mark_1.pdf Brown's official NASA biography]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20020330134027/http://www.astronautix.com/astros/bronmark.htm Astronautix biography of Mark N. Brown]
• [http://www.spacefacts.de/bios/astronauts/english/brown_mark.htm Spacefacts biography of Mark N. Brown]

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Category:1951 births

Category:Living people

Category:1989 in spaceflight

Category:1991 in spaceflight

Category:Aviators from Indiana

Category:United States Air Force astronauts

Category:People from Valparaiso, Indiana

Category:Businesspeople from Dayton, Ohio

Category:Purdue University School of Aeronautics and Astronautics alumni

Category:American aerospace engineers

Category:Air Command and Staff College alumni

Category:Air Force Institute of Technology alumni

Category:United States Air Force officers

Category:Recipients of the Defense Superior Service Medal

Category:Engineers from Ohio

Category:Space Shuttle program astronauts