A graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy in 1967, Mike Smith became a naval aviator and test pilot, accumulating over 4800 hours of flying time. He was selected for astronaut training in 1981 and subsequently served in a number of NASA positions prior to his assignment as pilot on STS 51-L. Captain Smith died on January 28, 1986 when the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded after launch from the Kennedy Space Center, also taking the lives of spacecraft commander, F.R. (Dick) Scobee, three mission specialists, Dr. R.E. McNair, Lieutenant Colonel E.S. Onizuka (USAF), and Dr. J.A. Resnik, and two civilian payload specialists, Mr. G.B. Jarvis and Mrs. S. C. McAuliffe. This photograph was donated by his widow, Jane Smith-Wolcott.