Editing William C. McCool (section)

== NASA experience ==

Selected by [[NASA]] in April 1996, McCool reported to the [[Johnson Space Center]] the following August.<ref name=usnamh /> He completed two years of training and evaluation, and was qualified for flight assignment as a pilot. Initially assigned to the Computer Support Branch, McCool also served as technical assistant to the director of flight crew operations, and worked Shuttle cockpit upgrade issues for the Astronaut Office.<ref name="NASA-JSC"/>

=== Spaceflight experience ===
{{Main|STS-107}}
McCool was pilot of Space Shuttle mission [[STS-107]], January 16 to February 1, 2003, logging 15 days, 22 hours and 20 minutes in space. The 16-day flight was a dedicated science and research mission. Working 24 hours a day, in two alternating shifts, the crew successfully conducted approximately 80 experiments. According to NASA, McCool said of the unique view he and his crewmates had from Columbia:<ref>{{cite news|title=Remembering NASA's Columbia shuttle tragedy|first=Emily |last=McCain|date=February 1, 2019 |url=https://www.abcactionnews.com/news/national/remembering-nasas-columbia-shuttle-tragedy|publisher=ABC Action News Tampa Bay|access-date=November 25, 2022}}</ref><ref name="107mem">{{cite web|url=http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/shuttle/archives/sts-107/memorial/mccool.html |title=William McCool STS-107 Crew Memorial|date=January 28, 2004|publisher=NASA|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041106134007/http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/shuttle/archives/sts-107/memorial/mccool.html |archive-date=November 6, 2004 }}</ref>
{{blockquote|text=From our orbital vantage point, we observe an earth without borders, full of peace, beauty and magnificence, and we pray that humanity as a whole can imagine a borderless world as we see it and strive to live as one in peace.|author=William Cameron McCool|title=29 January 2003 onboard ''Columbia''}}

STS-107's mission ended abruptly on February 1, 2003, when ''Columbia'' disintegrated during re-entry, 16 minutes before scheduled landing. All seven crew members were killed.

McCool was posthumously awarded the [[NASA Space Flight Medal]], the [[NASA Distinguished Service Medal]], the [[Defense Distinguished Service Medal]] (DDSM), and the [[Congressional Space Medal of Honor]].<ref name="NASA-JSC" />