David McDowell Brown was an American United States Navy captain and NASA astronaut. Before becoming an astronaut, he served as a naval aviator and later a flight surgeon, showcasing a diverse range of skills and interests. Selected by NASA in 1996, his only spaceflight was as a mission specialist on STS-107, the final mission of the Space Shuttle Columbia. Brown and the other six crew members tragically died on February 1, 2003, when the shuttle disintegrated during re-entry into Earth's atmosphere.