MARK N. BROWN (COLONEL, USAF) 

NASA ASTRONAUT (FORMER)

PERSONAL DATA: Born November 18, 1951, in Valparaiso, Indiana. Married to 

the former Lynne A. Anderson of River Grove, Illinois. They have two daughters. 

Recreational interests include fishing, hiking, jogging, all sports, and chess. His 

parents, Mr. and Mrs. Richard S. Brown, reside in Valparaiso, Indiana. Her mother, 

Mrs. Charles E. Anderson, resides in River Grove, Illinois.

EDUCATION: Graduated from Valparaiso High School, Valparaiso, Indiana in 

1969; received a bachelor of science degree in aeronautical and astronautical 

engineering from Purdue University in 1973, and a master of science degree in 

astronautical engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology in 1980.

SPECIAL HONORS: NASA Space Flight Medal. Distinguished Graduate from Air 

Force ROTC, Aerospace Defense Command "We Point With Pride" Award, Air Force 

Command Pilot, Senior Space Badge, Defense Superior Service Medal, two Air Force Commendation Medals, Air Force 

Outstanding Unit Award, Combat Readiness Medal, National Defense Medal, and the Small Arms Expert Marksmanship 

Ribbon.

EXPERIENCE: Brown 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. In 

1979 Brown was transferred to the Air Force Institute of Technology at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, and received 

his master of science degree in astronautical engineering in 1980. 

NASA EXPERIENCE: Brown has been employed at the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center since 1980. Assigned as an 

engineer in the Flight Activities Section, he participated in the development of contingency procedures for use aboard the 

Shuttle and served as an attitude and pointing officer. Brown supported STS flights 2, 3, 4, 6, 8 and 41-C in the Flight Activity 

Officer/Staff Support Room of the Mission Control Center.

Selected by NASA in May 1984, Brown became an astronaut in June 1985, and qualified for assignment as a mission specialist 

on future Space Shuttle flight crews. In December 1985, he was assigned to the crew of a Department of Defense mission 

which was subsequently canceled due to the Challenger accident. During 1986 and 1987, he served as an astronaut member of 

the solid rocket booster redesign team. In February 1988 Brown was assigned to a new flight crew. He flew on STS-28 

(August 8-13, 1989), following which he served as astronaut member on the Space Station Freedom Program. He next flew on 

STS-48 (September 12-18, 1991). With the completion of his second mission, Brown has logged over 249 hours in space.

On his first space flight, Brown served as a mission specialist on the crew of STS-28. The Orbiter Columbia launched from 

Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on August 8, 1989. 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 August 13, 1989. 

Brown next flew on the crew of STS-48 aboard the Orbiter Discovery which launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on 

September 12, 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, California, on September 18, 1991.

Brown will leave NASA in July 1993 and will retire from the U.S. Air Force to head up the Space Division office of General 

Research Corporation in Dayton, Ohio.

This is the only version available from NASA. Updates must be sought direct from the above named individual.

National Aeronautics and

Space Administration

Biographical Data

 Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center

 Houston, Texas 77058