United States Astronaut Hall of Fame

Coordinates: 28°31′22″N 80°40′59″W / 28.522840°N 80.683022°W / 28.522840; -80.683022
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Statue of Alan Shepard, the first American in space and the fifth person to walk on the Moon, located at the entrance

The United States Astronaut Hall of Fame, located inside the

Gemini IX spacecraft flown by Gene Cernan and Thomas P. Stafford
in 1966.

History

Mercury astronauts
in 1962, inducted 1990

In the 1980s, the six then-surviving

halls of fame for other fields.[1] The Mercury Seven Foundation and Astronaut Scholarship Foundation were formed, and have a role in the ongoing operations of the Hall of Fame. The foundation's first executive director was former Associated Press
space reporter Howard Benedict.

Entrance to the original Astronaut Hall of Fame

The Astronaut Hall of Fame was opened on October 29, 1990, by the U.S. Space Camp Foundation, which was the first owner of the facility. It was located next to the Florida branch of

Space Camp.[2]

The Hall of Fame closed for several months in 2002 when U.S. Space Camp Foundation's creditors foreclosed on the property due to low attendance and mounting debt.

Delaware North Park Services on behalf of NASA and the property was added to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. The Hall of Fame re-opened December 14, 2002.[4]

The Hall of Fame, which was originally located just west of the NASA Causeway, closed to the public on November 2, 2015, in preparation for its relocation to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex 6 miles (9.7 km) to the east on Merritt Island. Outside of the original building was a full-scale replica of a Space Shuttle orbiter named Inspiration (originally named "Shuttle To Tomorrow" where visitors could enter and view a program). Inspiration served only as an outdoor, full scale, static display which visitors could not enter. After the Hall of Fame was transferred to the KSC Visitor Complex, Inspiration was acquired by LVX System and was placed in storage at the Shuttle Landing Facility at the Kennedy Space Center; in 2016, the shuttle was loaded on to a barge to be taken for refurbishment before going on an educational tour.[5]

The building was purchased at auction by visitor complex operator Delaware North and renamed the ATX Center, and for a time housed educational programs including Camp Kennedy Space Center and the Astronaut Training Experience.[6] Those programs have since been moved to the KSC Visitor Complex, and as of December 2019, the structure was being offered for lease. In July 2020, Lockheed Martin announced it would lease the building to support work on the NASA Orion crew capsule.[7]

Inductees

See also: Category:United States Astronaut Hall of Fame inductees

Inductees into the Hall of Fame are selected by a blue ribbon committee of former NASA officials and flight controllers, historians, journalists, and other space authorities (including former astronauts) based on their accomplishments in space or their contributions to the advancement of space exploration.[8] Except for 2002, inductions have been held every year since 2001.

Neil Armstrong, inducted 1993
Ed White, inducted 1993

As its inaugural class in 1990, the Hall of Fame inducted the United States' original group of astronauts: the Mercury Seven. In addition to being the first American astronauts, they set several firsts in American spaceflight, both auspicious and tragic. Alan Shepard was the first American in space and later became one of the twelve people to walk on the Moon. John Glenn was the first American to orbit the Earth and after his induction went on, in 1998, to become the oldest man to fly in space, aged 77. Gus Grissom was the first American to fly in space twice and was the commander of the ill-fated Apollo 1, which resulted in the first astronaut deaths directly related to preparation for spaceflight.[9]

Sally Ride, inducted 2003
Guy Bluford, inducted 2010

Thirteen astronauts from the

walk in space (also killed in the Apollo 1 accident); Jim Lovell, commander of the famously near-tragic Apollo 13; and John Young, whose six flights included a moonwalk and command of the first Space Shuttle
mission.

The third class was inducted in 1997 and consisted of the 24 additional Apollo,

Roger Chaffee, the third astronaut killed in the Apollo 1 fire and the only unflown astronaut in the Hall; Harrison Schmitt, the first scientist and next-to-last person to walk on the Moon; and Jack Swigert and Fred Haise
, the Apollo 13 crewmembers not previously inducted.

The philosophy regarding the first three groups of inductees was that all astronauts who flew in NASA's "pioneering" programs (which would include Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, Apollo Applications Program (Skylab), and Apollo-Soyuz Test Project) would be included simply by virtue of their participation in a spaceflight in these early programs. The first group (the inaugural class of 1990) would only include the original Mercury astronauts (most of whom would go on to fly in later programs). The second group of inductees would include those astronauts who began their spaceflight careers during Gemini (all of whom would go on to fly in later programs). The third group of inductees would include those astronauts who began their spaceflight careers during Apollo, Skylab, and ASTP (some of whom would go on to fly in the Space Shuttle program). Since it would not be practical (or meaningful) to induct all astronauts who ever flew in space, all subsequent inductees (Space Shuttle program and beyond) are considered based on their accomplishments and contributions to the human spaceflight endeavor which would set them apart from their peers.

Over four dozen astronauts from the Space Shuttle program have been inducted since 2001. Among these are

ill-fated final Challenger mission.[11]

The 2010 class consisted of

Curt Brown and Eileen Collins were inducted in 2013,[15] and Shannon Lucid and Jerry Ross comprised the 2014 class.[16]

Those inducted in 2015 were

John Grunsfeld, Steven Lindsey, Kent Rominger, and Rhea Seddon. In 2016, inductees included Brian Duffy and Scott E. Parazynski. Ellen Ochoa and Michael Foale were announced as the 2017 class of the United States Astronaut Hall of Fame. Scott Altman and Thomas Jones followed in 2018. The 2019 inductees were James Buchli and Janet L. Kavandi.[17]

Michael López-Alegría, Scott Kelly and Pamela Melroy were the 2020 inductees, inducted in a November 2021 ceremony. The 2022 inductees were Christopher Ferguson, David Leestma, and Sandra Magnus. Roy Bridges Jr. and Mark Kelly were the 2023 inductees.[18]

Exhibits

Gus Grissom's Mercury spacesuit
Sigma 7 Mercury spacecraft, flown by Wally Schirra in 1962
Eugene Cernan
in 1966

The Hall of Heroes is composed of tributes to the inductees. Among the Hall of Fame's displays is Sigma 7, the Mercury spacecraft piloted by Wally Schirra which orbited the Earth six times in 1962, and the Gemini 9A capsule flown by Gene Cernan and Thomas P. Stafford in 1966. An Astronaut Adventure room includes simulators for use by children.

The

show and tell at his son's school, and then never returned it, while the Grissoms claim Gus rescued the spacesuit from a scrap heap.[21]

Gallery

  • Alan Shepard's Apollo 14 lunar space suit
    Alan Shepard's Apollo 14 lunar space suit
  • Replica of Apollo 15 Genesis Rock
    Replica of Apollo 15 Genesis Rock
  • Flag flown on the first crewed US spaceflight (Freedom 7 in 1961) and the 100th (STS-71 in 1995)
    Flag flown on the first crewed US spaceflight (Freedom 7 in 1961) and the 100th (STS-71 in 1995)
  • A Gemini 7 G5C spacesuit
    A
    G5C spacesuit
  • Full-scale replica of a Space Shuttle orbiter which once stood adjacent to the United States Astronaut Hall of Fame
    Full-scale replica of a Space Shuttle orbiter which once stood adjacent to the United States Astronaut Hall of Fame

See also

The American Astronaut Wall of Fame at the Meteor Crater site near Winslow, Arizona.

References

  1. ^ U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex Archived 2009-05-19 at the Wayback Machine, retrieved 2007-08-23
  2. ^ Jay Clarke (1990-10-30). "Mercury Museum -- Hall Of Fame Honors 7 Who Blazed A Trail In Space". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 2007-05-27.
  3. ^ Corey Schubert (2002-08-07). "Space Camp Florida Faces Foreclosure, Low Attendance Partly to Blame". Florida Today. Archived from the original on 2008-06-18. Retrieved 2007-05-27.
  4. ^ "Astronaut Hall of Fame Reopens to Public Saturday, Dec. 14 As Newest Attraction at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex". Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. 2002-12-14. Retrieved 2007-05-27.
  5. ^ Dean, James (January 15, 2016). "Shuttle model 'Inspiration' barging into new mission". Florida Today. Viera, FL. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
  6. ^ "U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame closing soon for relocation". Florida Today. Retrieved 2018-07-28.
  7. ^ Emre Kelly (2020-07-17). "Lockheed Martin will lease former Astronaut Hall of Fame for NASA's Orion spacecraft". Florida Today. Retrieved 2020-09-15.
  8. ^ "Boeing Executive Inducted Into Astronaut Hall of Fame". The Boeing Company. 2004-05-04. Archived from the original on June 13, 2008. Retrieved 2007-05-27.
  9. ^ "Mercury Astronauts Dedicate Hall of Fame at Florida Site". Victoria Advocate. Victoria, Texas. Associated Press. May 12, 1990. p. 38 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ Clark, Amy (March 14, 1993). "Activities Honor Gemini Astronauts". Florida Today. Cocoa, Florida. p. 41 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame at KSC Visitor Complex - Astronaut Scholarship Foundation Archived 2009-05-19 at the Wayback Machine, United States Astronaut Hall of Fame, retrieved 2009-05-04
  12. ^ "2010 U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame Induction Gala". Astronaut Scholarship Foundation. Archived from the original on May 1, 2010. Retrieved May 10, 2010.
  13. ^ "2011 U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame Induction". Astronautscholarship.org. Archived from the original on 17 February 2011. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  14. ^ "Astronaut Hall of Fame's new space shuttle inductees humbled by heroes' welcome - collectSPACE". collectSPACE.com. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  15. ^ "Astronaut Hall of Fame adds space shuttle vets Brown, Collins and Dunbar" April 21, 2013 CollectSpace.com
  16. ^ "Astronaut Hall of Fame inducts two record-setting space shuttle fliers" May 4, 2013 CollectSpace.com
  17. ^ "U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony & Gala". Retrieved February 22, 2017.
  18. ^ NASA article on the 2023 inductees
  19. ^ John Kelly (2002-11-20). "Gus Grissom's Family, NASA Fight Over Spacesuit". Florida Today. Retrieved 2007-05-27.
  20. ^ "NASA, Astronaut's Family Fight Over a Spacesuit". The Washington Post. 2002-11-30. Retrieved 2007-05-04.
  21. ^ Christopher Lee (2005-08-24). "Grissom Spacesuit in Tug of War". Washington Post. Retrieved 2007-05-27.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Astronaut Hall of Fame.

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