McBride became an astronaut in August 1979 and has performed a number of duties at NASA including piloting Challenger, STS 41-G, in 1984. The eight-day mission mission was the first with a crew of seven astronauts and was responsible for deploying the Earth Radiation Budget Satellite.

McBride has also served as NASA's Assistant Administrator for Congressional Relations. In May 1989, Captain McBride retired from NASA and the Navy, in order to pursue a business career.