Steve Nagel, an accomplished astronaut and aviation enthusiast who moved to Columbia in 2011 to teach at the University of Missouri, died Thursday evening of complications related to an aggressive form of melanoma.

A scientist with a love for travel in the air and in space, Nagel, 67, was a veteran of four NASA shuttle missions and a longtime U.S. Air Force pilot. He and his wife, Linda Godwin, also a former NASA astronaut, moved to Columbia from Houston and joined the MU faculty.

Nagel, who had a bachelor�s degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Illinois and a master�s degree in mechanical engineering from California State University, Fresno, taught mechanical engineering at MU for two years before his condition forced him to quit, Godwin said. Godwin, a graduate of MU, still teaches physics at the university.

Even though Nagel�s curriculum vitae is impressive, Henry White, MU professor emeritus of physics, said Nagel never let his success go to his head. White said Nagel�s stories were never about an astronaut�s glory and always were told with an exceptional sense of humor.

�Most of the time they were self-deprecating,� White said. �Instead of describing his heroics, he would describe how he screwed up.�

Nagel was born Oct. 27, 1946, to Ivan �Pete� Nagel and Helena Nagel in Canton, Ill. Before he got his driver�s license, Godwin said, Nagel had flown a solo flight in a small plane. His love of aircraft was present throughout his life as he served in the Air Force as a flight instructor and test pilot beginning in the 1970s. In all, he logged 12,600 hours of flying time, 9,640 of which was in jet aircraft, according to his bio on NASA�s website.

Nagel joined NASA in 1979 and flew his first mission, as a specialist, in 1985. During that mission he was in space for 170 hours. His next mission, in October 1985, he orbited the Earth 111 times in a week. In 1991, on his third NASA flight, he served as the commander, and he was commander of his fourth and final shuttle flight in 1993. His time in space totaled 723 hours, according to NASA.

It was in the mid-�80s that he and Godwin first met, she said, but they didn�t know each other until she served on his shuttle flight in 1991. They began dating in early 1995 and married in December of that year. He retired from the Air Force in 1995 and from NASA in 2011.

The couple were part owners of a small plane, Godwin said, and Nagel flew frequently. He was passionate about flying and astronomy but also a devoted family man and devout Christian, Godwin said. Some of his favorite moments were spent with his two daughters, she said.

�I would say that as a husband, a father and colleague to so many, he was an outstanding individual,� White said. �He had a jovial spirit, very upbeat, very positive.�

Nagel never did anything halfway, Godwin said, and echoed what White said of her husband�s humility. �There�s a lot of big egos around there at NASA, and he was always very grounded in how he treated everybody,� she said.