McBride was an astronaut with NASA, a role in which he piloted STS-41-G, and would have been commander of STS-61-E had the mission not been canceled as the next scheduled launch in the wake of the Challenger disaster.
McBride was married to the former Brenda Lou Stewart in 1966.[3] They had three children, Richard M. (1962–1992),[4] Melissa L. (1966), and Jon A. (1970).[5] After their divorce in 1986, he married the former Sharon Lynn White in 1988, which also ended in divorce in 2019.[3]
McBride was the pilot of STS-41-G, which launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, on October 5, 1984, aboard the Orbiter Challenger. This was the first crew of seven, at the time the largest crew ever sent into space.[6] During their eight-day mission, crew members deployed the Earth Radiation Budget Satellite, conducted scientific observations of the Earth with the OSTA-3 pallet and Large Format Camera, and demonstrated potential satellite refueling with an EVA and associated hydrazine transfer. The mission duration was 197 hours and concluded with a landing at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, on October 13, 1984.[1][9]
McBride was scheduled to fly again in March 1986 as the commander of STS-61-E. This flight was one of several deferred by NASA in the wake of the Challenger accident in January 1986.[1][10]
McBride (sitting in the middle), as commander of never flown STS-61-E spaceflight
On July 30, 1987, McBride was assigned to NASA Headquarters to serve as assistant administrator for Congressional Relations, with responsibility for NASA's relationship with the United States Congress, and for providing coordination and direction to all headquarters and field center communications with congressional support organizations. He held this post from September 1987 through March 1989. In 1988, McBride was named to command the crew of the STS-35 (ASTRO-1) mission, scheduled for launch in March 1990, but chose to retire from NASA instead.[1][10]
Post-NASA career
Business career
In May 1989, McBride retired from NASA and the U.S. Navy to pursue a business career. He moved to Lewisburg, West Virginia, where he became president and chief executive officer of the Flying Eagle Corporation, a venture capital firm,[2] and president of the Constructors' Labor Council of West Virginia, a group representing heavy and highway construction contractors.[11]
By 2008, McBride was retired and living near Cocoa, Florida. According to a short interview on September 20, 2017, during a "Meet an Astronaut" event, he was also actively working on improving the Space Shuttle Experience ride. He had proposed to assist in the development of a landing sequence for the ride.[14][15] McBride remained active supporting the "Lunch with an Astronaut" program at Kennedy Space Center until 2020 when he announced his retirement from duty at the visitors complex.[16][17]
On September 23, 2011, the NASA Independent Verification and Validation Facility (IV&V) in Fairmont, West Virginia, dedicated a NASA software laboratory to McBride, a West Virginia native. The laboratory's official name is the Jon McBride Software Testing and Research Laboratory, or JSTAR. JSTAR is NASA IV&V's environment for adaptable testing and simulation, designed to enhance tools and methods used to critically assess mission and safety critical software across NASA's missions. The lab supports end-to-end testing on mission flight software through the application of analytical rigor to reduce the threat of software-related mission failure.[18][19][3]
Death
Jon McBride died on August 7, 2024, at the age of 80, just a week before his 81st birthday.[3][8]
^"Richard M. McBride, LT, USN". U.S. Naval Academy Virtual Memorial Hall. U. S. Naval Academy. Archived from the original on October 30, 2023. Retrieved May 30, 2022.
^Markham, Gailyn (October 25, 2023). "Two historic markers dedicated in Beckley". WVVA. Retrieved August 10, 2024. The first is a tribute to Jon McBride, a NASA astronaut and space shuttle pilot. McBride graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School more than 60 years ago, and, in 1996, he tried to join the state's political scene when he put his name in the hat for the Republican nomination for governor. He lost the race to Cecil Underwood.
