Kalpana Chawla (Punjabi:ਕਲਪਨਾ ਚਾਵਲਾ) (7 March 1962 – 1 February 2003), was an Indian-born American astronaut and space shuttle mission specialist. She was one of seven crewmembers lost aboard Space Shuttle Columbia during mission STS-107 when the shuttle disintegrated upon reentry into the Earth's atmosphere. Kalpana Chawla is a posthumous recipient of the Congressional Space Medal of Honor.

Ilan Ramon (June 20 1954 - February 1 2003;) was a combat pilot in the Israeli Air Force, and later the first Israeli astronaut. Ramon was the space shuttle payload specialist of STS-107, the fatal mission of "Columbia", where he and the other crew were killed in a re-entry accident over Texas. Ramon is a recipient of the Congressional Space Medal of Honor.

Dr. Judith Arlene Resnik was an American astronaut who died at the age of 36 in the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster during the launch of the mission STS-51-L. Resnik was born in Akron, Ohio and attended Hebrew school. She graduated from Firestone High School. She received a B.S. in electrical engineering from Pittsburgh's Carnegie Mellon University in 1970. That same year she married fellow student Michael Oldak. They divorced in 1974. Dr.

Virgil Ivan "Gus" Grissom was a United States Air Force pilot and a NASA astronaut. A native of Mitchell, Indiana, he was the second American to fly in space and the first person to fly in space twice. He was killed during a training exercise for the Apollo One mission on January 27, 1967, at Launch Complex 34 at Cape Kennedy, along with fellow astronauts Ed White and Roger Chaffee.

Francis Richard "Dick" Scobee (May 19, 1939 - January 28, 1986) was an American astronaut who died commanding the Space Shuttle Challenger, which suffered catastrophic booster failure during launch of the STS-51-L mission. Born in Cle Elum, Washington, Scobee enlisted in the United States Air Force in 1957, where he served as a reciprocating engine mechanic at Kelly Air Force Base in Texas.

Ronald Erwin McNair, Ph.D. (October 21, 1950 - January 28, 1986) was an American physicist and a NASA astronaut. McNair perished during the launch of the Space Shuttle Challenger on mission STS-51-L. He was a native of Lake City, South Carolina. McNair received a B.S. in physics from North Carolina A&T State University in 1971, and a Ph.D. in the same discipline from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1977.

Roger Bruce Chaffee was a U.S. Navy pilot who became an American astronaut in the Apollo program.

Ellison Shoji Onizuka (June 24, 1946 - January 28, 1986) was a Japanese-American astronaut from Kealakekua, Kona, Hawai'i who died during the destruction of the Space Shuttle "Challenger", where he was serving as mission specialist on mission STS-51-L.

Elliott McKay See, Jr. (July 23, 1927 - February 28, 1966), was an American astronaut, selected in the second group of astronauts. Elliott See was born in Dallas, Texas. After initially attending The University of Texas where he was a member of Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity, he then attended the United States Merchant Marine Academy, graduating in 1949. He later obtained a masters degree from UCLA. He was married to Marilyn Denahy See, and had three children, Sally, …

Gregory Bruce Jarvis (August 24, 1944 - January 28, 1986) was an American astronaut who died during the destruction of the Space Shuttle Challenger on mission STS-51-L, where he was serving as payload specialist. He received a B.S. in electrical engineering from the University at Buffalo (SUNY) in 1967, and a Master's in the same discipline from Northeastern University in 1969. Jarvis joined the Air Force the same year and served until 1973, being discharged as a Captain.

Laurel Blair Salton Clark was a medical doctor, United States Navy Captain, NASA astronaut and Space Shuttle mission specialist of STS-107 ("Columbia") who was killed when the shuttle disintegrated after re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere. Clark, of Racine, Wisconsin became an astronaut in 1996. Clark is a recipient of the Congressional Space Medal of Honor.

Theodore Cordy Freeman (born February 18, 1930, in Haverford, Pennsylvania; died October 31, 1964 at Ellington Air Force Base, Houston, Texas) was a NASA astronaut and a captain in the United States Air Force. He was killed in the crash of a T-38 jet. He was survived by his wife Faith Clark Freeman and one daughter, Faith Huntington. Freeman completed his secondary education in 1948. He attended the University of Delaware at Newark for one year, …

Clifton 'C.C.' Williams (September 26, 1932 - October 5, 1967) was a NASA astronaut and United States Marine Corps Major who was killed after a mechanical failure caused the flight controls in a T-38 he was piloting to stop responding. The aircraft crashed in Florida near Tallahassee.

David McDowell Brown was a United States Naval Captain and a NASA astronaut. He was killed on his first space flight, when the Space Shuttle "Columbia" (STS-107) disintegrated during orbital reentry into the Earth's atmosphere. Brown became an astronaut in 1996, but had not served on a space mission prior to the Columbia disaster.

Vladislav Nikolayevich Volkov (Russian: Владислав Николаевич Волков; born November 23, 1935, Moscow - June 30, 1971) was a Soviet cosmonaut who flew on the Soyuz 7 and Soyuz 11 missions. He was a member of the second crew to die during a space flight on Soyuz 11. After a normal re-entry, the capsule was opened and the crew was found dead.

Michael John Smith, usually known as Mike Smith was an American astronaut, pilot of the Space Shuttle Challenger when it was destroyed during the STS-51-L mission. All seven crew members died. Smith was born in Beaufort, North Carolina; an airfield there is named for him. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1967 and served as a fighter pilot during the Vietnam War, …

William Cameron "Willie" McCool was a United States Navy Commander, NASA astronaut and the Space Shuttle pilot of "Columbia" mission STS-107. He was killed when the craft disintegrated during re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere.

Michael Phillip Anderson was a Lieutenant Colonel (USAF), a NASA astronaut and the Space Shuttle payload commander of STS-107 ("Columbia") who was killed when the craft disintegrated after reentry into the Earth's atmosphere.

Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin, Hero of the Soviet Union, was a Soviet cosmonaut. On 12 April 1961, he became the first man in space and the first to orbit the Earth. He also received many medals from his home country for his pioneering tour in space.

United States Air Force Major Robert Henry Lawrence, Jr. (October 2, 1935 - December 8, 1967) was born in Chicago, Illinois and named the first African-American astronaut. At the age of 16, he graduated in the top 10% from Englewood High School. At the age of 20, graduated from Bradley University with a Bachelor's Degree in Chemistry.

Richard Douglas Husband was an astronaut and the space shuttle commander of STS-107 ("Columbia") who was killed when the craft disintegrated after reentry into the Earth's atmosphere.

Vladimir Mikhailovich Komarov (Russian: Владимир Михайлович Комаров; March 16, 1927 – April 24, 1967) was a Soviet cosmonaut. He was the first confirmed human to die during a space mission, on Soyuz 1, and the first Soviet cosmonaut to travel into space more than once. He was born in Moscow, USSR (now Russia). He was selected to become a cosmonaut in 1960 with the first cosmonaut group.

Captain Charles Arthur "Art" Bassett, II (December 30, 1931 - February 28, 1966) was a United States Air Force officer and a NASA astronaut who died during a training flight.

Edward Higgins White, II (Lt.Col, USAF) (November 14, 1930 - January 27, 1967) was a United States Air Force officer and a NASA astronaut. On June 3 1965, he became the first American to conduct a spacewalk. White was killed during the Apollo 1 training accident and posthumously awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor and the Purple Heart Medal.

Valentin Vasiliyevich Bondarenko (February 16, 1937 in Kharkov, Ukrainian SSR - March 23, 1961 in Moscow, USSR) was a Soviet cosmonaut of Ukrainian descent. He rose to the rank of Second Lieutenant in the Soviet Air Force, and was selected for cosmonaut training on April 4, 1960. On March 23, 1961, he was killed during a fire in a pressurized chamber. He was married and had one child.

Viktor Ivanovich Patsayev (Russian: Виктор Иванович Пацаев; June 19, 1933, Aktyubinsk – June 30 1971) was a Soviet cosmonaut who flew on the Soyuz 11 mission and had the unfortunate distinction of being part of the second crew to die during a space flight. Onboard space station Salyut 1 he operated the Orion 1 Space Observatory (see Orion 1 and Orion 2 Space Observatories), …

Georgiy Timofeyevich Dobrovolskiy (Russian: Георгий Тимофеевич Добровольский; June 1, 1928, Odessa, Ukrainian SSR – June 30, 1971) was a Soviet cosmonaut of Ukrainian descent. He flew on the Soyuz 11 mission and had the unfortunate distinction of being part of the first acknowledged Soviet crew to die during a space flight. After a normal re-entry, the capsule was opened and the crew was found dead.

Michael James Adams (born in Sacramento, California on May 5, 1930, died November 15, 1967) was an American aviator and USAF astronaut.

Laika (from Russian: Лайка, a breed of dog, literally: "Barker") was a Russian space dog that became the first living creature from Earth to enter orbit. At one time a stray wandering the streets of Moscow, she was selected from an animal shelter. Originally named Kudryavka, she was renamed Laika after her breed type.