  william cameron "willie" mccool (september 23, 1961 â february 1, 2003) was a united states navy commander, nasa astronaut and the pilot of space shuttle columbia mission sts-107. he was killed, along with all others, when their spacecraft disintegrated during re-entry into the earth's atmosphere.nasa. william c. mccool: nasa astronaut: biographical data, lyndon b. johnson space center website, may 2004. retrieved august 15, 2010. note: this text, the work of a u.s. government agency, is a work in the public domain.kershaw, sarah space shuttle widow is ready to move on from rituals of loss, new york times, december 5, 2007. retrieved august 15, 2010. he was the youngest male member of the crew. == personal data == mccool was born september 23, 1961, in san diego, california, and died on february 1, 2003, over the southern united states when space shuttle columbia broke up during re-entry, 16 minutes prior to scheduled landing. he was survived by his wife and children. he enjoyed running, mountain biking, back country hiking/camping, swimming, playing guitar, and chess, and had a home in anacortes, washington, at the time of his death. his favorite song was "imagine" by john lennon, which was played during the space mission. his favorite band was radiohead, and the song "fake plastic trees" was played by mission control as a wake-up call. mccool is buried in anacortes, washington. == education == * 1979: graduated from [[coronado high school (lubbock)|coro
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