Sonny Carter Manley Lanier " Sonny " Carter , Jr . ( August 15 , 1947 – April 5 , 1991 ) was an American physician , professional soccer player , United States Navy officer , and NASA astronaut who flew on STS - 33 . Early life . Sonny Carter was born in Macon , Georgia , but considered Warner Robins , Georgia , to be his hometown . He graduated from Lanier High School in Macon in 1965 , and during his high school years was involved actively in Macon - based Troop 19 of the Boy Scouts of America , where he also served a term as Senior Patrol Leader , the highest leadership position for a young man in that BSA troop . He received a bachelor of arts degree in chemistry from Emory University in Atlanta in 1969 and a doctor of medicine degree from there in 1973 . During his time at Emory , Carter was a brother in the Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity . After completing medical school in 1973 , Carter completed internship in internal medicine at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta . Athletic career . Carter played collegiate soccer and ran track while an undergraduate at Emory University . During his senior season he was captain and most valuable player of the soccer team . In addition to his intercollegiate athletic career , Carter was an intramural wrestling champion . Carter played professional soccer while he attended medical school . In 1970 he signed with the Atlanta Chiefs of the North American Soccer League , for whom he played three seasons . Military career . In 1974 he entered the U . S . Navy and completed flight surgeon school in Pensacola , Florida . After serving tours as a flight surgeon with the 1st and 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing s , he returned to flight training at Beeville , Texas , and was designated a Naval Aviator on April 28 , 1978 . He was assigned as the senior medical officer of the USS " Forrestal " , and in March 1979 completed F - 4 training at VMFAT - 101 in Marine Corps Air Station Yuma , Arizona . He was subsequently reassigned as a fighter pilot , flying F - 4 Phantom s with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 333 ( VMFA - 333 ) at MCAS Beaufort , South Carolina . In 1981 he completed a nine - month Mediterranean cruise aboard USS " Forrestal " with VMFA - 115 . In September 1982 he attended U . S . Navy Fighter Weapons School ( TOPGUN ) and then served as the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing standardization officer and F - 4 combat readiness evaluator at MCAS Cherry Point , North Carolina . He then attended the U . S . Naval Test Pilot School , graduating in June 1984 . He has logged 3 , 000 flying hours and 160 carrier landings . Astronaut . Selected by NASA in May 1984 , Dr . Carter became an astronaut in June 1985 , qualified for assignment as a mission specialist on future Space Shuttle flight crews . He was assigned as Extra - vehicular activity ( EVA ) Representative for the Mission Development Branch of the Astronaut Office when selected to the crew of STS - 33 . The STS - 33 crew launched from Kennedy Space Center , Florida , at night on November 22 , 1989 , aboard the Space Shuttle " Discovery " . The mission carried Department of Defense payloads and other secondary payloads . After 79 orbit s of the earth , this five - day mission concluded on November 27 , 1989 with a hard surface landing on Runway 04 at Edwards Air Force Base , California . Carter logged 120 hours in space . At the time of his death , Carter was assigned as a mission specialist on the crew of STS - 42 , the first International Microgravity Laboratory ( IML - 1 ) . Death . Carter died in the April 5 , 1991 crash of Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 2311 in Brunswick , Georgia . He was aboard the commercial airplane traveling for NASA . Among the others who also died in the plane crash was former Senator John Tower of Texas . Legacy . Having died in the line of duty for NASA , Carter ' s name was added to the Space Mirror Memorial at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Merritt Island , Florida . His name was the first added after the memorial ' s original construction . After his death , his name was given to the Sonny Carter Training Facility Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory , NASA ' s underwater astronaut training facility , for which he had developed training techniques . Sonny Carter Elementary School in Macon , Georgia , which opened in 1993 , was named for Carter . The school motto is : " To Challenge the Edge of the Universe . " In 1989 , Emory inducted him in its Athletic Hall of Fame . The university holds The Sonny Carter Invitational each year in his honor . A plaque also honors his memory in the library of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity house at Emory University , in which he was a Brother .