ASTRONAUT

Michael J. Smith

1945 - 1986

Photo of Michael J. Smith

Icon of person Michael J. Smith

Michael John Smith (April 30, 1945 – January 28, 1986), (Capt USN) was an American engineer and astronaut. He served as the pilot of the Space Shuttle Challenger when it was destroyed during the STS-51-L mission, breaking up 73 seconds into the flight, and at an altitude of 48,000 feet (14.6 km), killing all seven crew members. Smith's voice was the last one heard on the Challenger voice recorder. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Michael J. Smith has received more than 123,465 page views. His biography is available in 33 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 30 in 2019). Michael J. Smith is the 71st most popular astronaut (down from 53rd in 2019), the 3,081st most popular biography from United States (down from 2,765th in 2019) and the 33rd most popular American Astronaut.

Memorability Metrics

  • 120k

    Page Views (PV)

  • 54.68

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 33

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 4.04

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 3.83

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Among ASTRONAUTS

Among astronauts, Michael J. Smith ranks 71 out of 556. Before him are Aleksei Gubarev, Karol J. Bobko, Gordon Cooper, Claude Nicollier, Viktor Gorbatko, and Thomas P. Stafford. After him are Mary L. Cleave, Phạm Tuân, Yuri Artyukhin, Sally Ride, Konstantin Feoktistov, and Georgi Ivanov.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1945, Michael J. Smith ranks 199. Before him are Douglas Hofstadter, Aurore Clément, Alejo Vidal-Quadras Roca, Christophe, Dimitar Penev, and Roger Chartier. After him are Nigel Terry, Nick Simper, Stephen Stills, Curtis Hanson, Panagiotis Pikrammenos, and Antonio Cañizares Llovera. Among people deceased in 1986, Michael J. Smith ranks 102. Before him are Léopold Szondi, Ding Ling, Liu Bocheng, Michael, Prince of Montenegro, Christa McAuliffe, and Albert Scherrer. After him are Valentin Kataev, Artur London, Raúl Prebisch, Princess Anne of Orléans, Judith Resnik, and Scatman Crothers.

Others Born in 1945

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Others Deceased in 1986

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In United States

Among people born in United States, Michael J. Smith ranks 3,081 out of 20,380. Before him are Tom Savini (1946), Jackie Stallone (1921), Walton Walker (1889), Lisa Niemi (1956), Chubby Checker (1941), and Mark Granovetter (1943). After him are Richard C. Tolman (1881), Brad Dexter (1917), Juliette Lewis (1973), Patricia Krenwinkel (1947), Craig Venter (1946), and Stephen Kovacevich (1940).

Others born in United States

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Among ASTRONAUTS In United States

Among astronauts born in United States, Michael J. Smith ranks 33. Before him are Ronald Evans (1933), Richard F. Gordon Jr. (1929), Christa McAuliffe (1948), Karol J. Bobko (1937), Gordon Cooper (1927), and Thomas P. Stafford (1930). After him are Mary L. Cleave (1947), Sally Ride (1951), Judith Resnik (1949), Rusty Schweickart (1935), James McDivitt (1929), and Donn F. Eisele (1930).

American born Astronauts

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