Mark N. Brown

Mark Neil Brown (born November 18, 1951) is an American engineer, retired colonel in the United States Air Force and former NASA astronaut.

Assigned as an engineer in the Flight Activities Section, he participated in the development of contingency procedures for use aboard the Space Shuttle and served as an attitude and pointing officer.

In February 1988, Brown was assigned to STS-28, flying on 8 August 1989, after which he served as astronaut member on the Space Station Freedom program, which was later canceled.

After 80 orbits of the Earth, this five-day mission concluded with a dry lakebed landing on Runway 17 at Edwards Air Force Base, California, on 13 August 1989.

The crew also conducted numerous secondary experiments ranging from growing protein crystals to studying how fluids and structures react in weightlessness.

Brown left NASA in July 1993 and retired from the U.S. Air Force to head the Space Division office of General Research Corporation in Dayton, Ohio.