Astronaut Joe Allen '59 Honors the Legacy of the Space Shuttle Challenger Crew
February 2, 2006
February 2, 2006, Greencastle, Ind. - "For the past 20 years, Joe Allen's mission has been one of redemption -- finding something other than utter tragedy in the crash of the space shuttle Challenger on Jan. 28, 1986," begins an article in the Indianapolis Star. Dr. Allen, a 1959 graduate of DePauw University and member of the Astronaut Hall of Fame, is quoted in an article marking the twentieth anniversary of the Challenger disaster.
Allen, a member of DePauw University's Board of Trustees, flew as a mission specialist on two space shuttle flights and served as a mission controller for Apollo 15 and 17 and for the first test flight of the space shuttle. He "lost seven friends that morning... He used to play squash with one of the Challenger crew, Mike Smith. He went fishing with 
another, Ellison Onizuka. 'We all shared offices,' he said. 'The loss is difficult to put in words, but imagine losing seven dear friends all at one time.'"
Raygan Swan notes that Dr. Allen delivered a speech at a Saturday ceremony at Kennedy Space Center marking the anniversary of the Challenger explosion. "The greatest honor, Allen believes, can be found in 50 Challenger Learning Centers built across the U.S., including three in Indiana. The centers are a favorite destination for school field trips, offering lessons in space exploration and aerospace technology through a simulated mission. 'We reach about 400,000 students a year with these centers,' said Allen, 68, who played a key role in fund-raising for the centers and now is chairman of the board that operates them. Allen flew two shuttle missions -- 
on Columbia and Discovery -- and retired from the program about six months before the Challenger launch."
The story continues, "After the tragedy, he brainstormed with families, friends and colleagues of the Challenger crew. He says all agreed that the centers would be the most appropriate monument." Access the complete text at the Star's Web site.
During his NASA career, Dr. Allen also served as assistant administrator of the agency from 1975-1978 and as director of astronaut training and operations in the early 1980s. Today, he is chairman of the board of Veridian Corporation and on the not-for-profit Challenger Center for Space Science Education. In 2005, 
he was inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame.
Joe Allen's father, Joseph Percival "Perk" Allen III '30, was a member of DePauw's economics faculty from 1957 until his retirement in 1975.
Read more in this previous story, and access a biography of Dr. Allen at the Astronaut Hall of Fame Web site.
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