Generally, the space explorers inducted annually into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame do not include substantially to their records between the time when they are announced and when they are enshrined. This years class, however, was anything however typical.Celebrated at a public event held at NASAs Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida on Saturday (Nov. 13), Michael Lopez-Alegria, Pamela Melroy and Scott Kelly became the 100th, 101st and 102nd astronauts to get in the hall. The celebration, postponed by the COVID-19 pandemic, came practically two years after they were selected for the honor.”Our 3 inductees were picked in 2020, nevertheless, their induction ceremony has actually been postponed up until now to permit us to securely honor their achievement with their family and friends,” stated emcee John Zarella, a journalist and previous CNN area reporter. “Thankfully, patience and determination are prerequisites for an astronaut career.”Chosen for their currently impressive list of achievements attained both in space and in the world, the 2020-21 inductees invested the additional time raising the profile of the U.S. area program, going back to work for NASA and, in one case, preparing to go back to area on a first-of-its-kind commercial mission.Related: How To Become An AstronautMore: 15 Space Travel Tips from an AstronautMichael Lopez-Alegria, Pam Melroy and Scott Kelly present with their now fellow U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame conscripts at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, Nov. 13, 2021. (Image credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett)”We honor these three astronauts today for their amazing accomplishments in area, however lets also gain from their aspirations,” stated previous Senator Bill Nelson, now NASA Administrator and a previous area shuttle bus payload professional. “Each of these people has a special story.”Members of consecutive astronaut classes in 1992, 1994 and 1996 respectively, Lopez-Alegria, Melroy and Kelly had overlapping NASA careers.Lopez-Alegria flew 4 times to area, logging more than 257 day of rests the world and maintains the record for the most cumulative time on spacewalks by an American at 67 hours and 40 minutes. He is likewise tied with former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson for the most extravehicular activities by an American at 10 spacewalks.Melroy flew the very first of her 3 space shuttle missions with Lopez-Alegria as a crewmate. She was just the second U.S. woman to pilot and after that command an area mission.Mark Kelly presently holds the title for the longest single space objective by a U.S. astronaut, a record that was once held by Lopez-Alegria. A veteran of 4 spaceflights, consisting of the first year-long mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS), Kelly likewise shares the difference with his brother, Mark, of being the first twins to both become astronauts.Related: What Its Like to Become a NASA Astronaut: 10 Surprising Facts”Since its very first induction in 1990, Astronaut Hall of Fame conscripts have actually sort of mirrored the evolution of human spaceflight in America,” stated Lopez-Alegria, stating how the classes advanced from the initial Mercury astronauts through the Gemini and Apollo team members up through the area shuttle start in 2001. “Up to today, of all the objectives zipped the 98 previous inductees, just 18 are to the ISS.””Today, my fellow conscripts and I have, of the 11 flights that weve flown together, eight of them were to the ISS, so we are getting in the International Space Station era,” he said.At the exact same time, though, the activities that the 3 honorees have actually carried out given that being revealed in January 2020 recommend another shift may quickly be underway.Lopez-Alegria is now within months of ending up being the first previous NASA astronaut to return the spaceport station.”Hes refrained from doing yet,” stated Nelson. “He will go back to low Earth orbit, this time as commander of the Axiom personal astronaut mission-one [Ax-1] to the ISS. And there he has a genuine job because hes going to be the caretaker of some private astronauts.”Melroy followed up her induction announcement by going back to operate at NASA.”This has been a quite incredible year for me. I am extremely honored to be the deputy to Administrator Bill Nelson,” Melroy said. “We are humbled and excited to lead NASA into the future.””Were poised to go back to the moon. We are really at an inflection point,” she said. “We are constructing a program to accomplish a series of objectives that will provide the blueprint to how we keep a human existence as we explore the solar system and then the universe.”For Kelly, the modification has been less about his own actions as it has actually been NASA moving on. His U.S. record of 340 days on a single mission will be broken next year by NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei, who is presently aboard the area station.The U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame, as featured in Heroes & & Legends at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. (Image credit: Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex)”My professional life at NASA has actually really been the emphasize of my life,” stated Kelly. “What Ive found out in my profession and in life is that making huge leaps need small, workable actions and the help of a lot of individuals along the way.”Saturdays ceremony, which was held under the visitor complexs display of the space shuttle bus Atlantis, was participated in by 24 astronauts, consisting of 17 Hall of Fame inductees. Brian Duffy, Susan Helms and Bob Cabana were picked to formally induct Lopez-Alegria, Helms and Kelly, respectively.As in previous years, the class of 2020 was picked by a panel of Astronaut Hall of Fame members, flight controllers, historians and journalists. To be eligible, the nominees needed to be U.S. people trained by NASA who first orbited Earth a minimum of 17 years ago.Follow collectSPACE.com on Facebook and on Twitter at @collectSPACE. Copyright 2021 collectSPACE.com. All rights scheduled.
“Chosen for their already remarkable list of achievements attained both in area and on Earth, the 2020-21 conscripts spent the additional time raising the profile of the U.S. area program, returning to work for NASA and, in one case, preparing to return to space on a first-of-its-kind business mission.Related: How To Become An AstronautMore: 15 Space Travel Tips from an AstronautMichael Lopez-Alegria, Pam Melroy and Scott Kelly posture with their now fellow U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame conscripts at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, Nov. 13, 2021. (Image credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett)”We honor these 3 astronauts today for their extraordinary achievements in area, however lets likewise discover from their aspirations,” said previous Senator Bill Nelson, now NASA Administrator and a previous space shuttle payload professional. She was just the 2nd U.S. lady to pilot and then command an area mission.Mark Kelly currently holds the title for the longest single space mission by a U.S. astronaut, a record that was as soon as held by Lopez-Alegria. A veteran of 4 spaceflights, consisting of the very first year-long mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS), Kelly likewise shares the distinction with his brother, Mark, of being the very first similar twins to both become astronauts.Related: What Its Like to Become a NASA Astronaut: 10 Surprising Facts”Since its very first induction in 1990, Astronaut Hall of Fame inductees have actually sort of mirrored the development of human spaceflight in America,” stated Lopez-Alegria, stating how the classes progressed from the initial Mercury astronauts through the Gemini and Apollo crew members up through the area shuttle beginning in 2001.”Today, my fellow conscripts and I have, of the 11 flights that weve flown together, 8 of them were to the ISS, so we are going into the International Space Station age,” he said.At the same time, though, the activities that the 3 honorees have carried out since being revealed in January 2020 recommend another shift may soon be underway.Lopez-Alegria is now within months of ending up being the very first former NASA astronaut to return the space station.