Michael John Smith, was an American engineer and astronaut. He served as the pilot of the Space Shuttle Challenger when it was destroyed during the STS-51-L mission, breaking up 73 seconds into the flight, and at an altitude of 48,000 feet (14.6 km), killing all seven crew members. Smith's voice was the last one heard on the Challenger voice recorder.
Jon Andrew McBride, is a retired NASA astronaut and American naval officer.
Donald Edward Williams was an American naval officer and aviator, test pilot, mechanical engineer and NASA astronaut. He logged a total of 287 hours and 35 minutes in space.
Kent Vernon "Rommel" Rominger is an American former astronaut, former NASA Chief of the Astronaut Office at Johnson Space Center, and a captain in the United States Navy. Rominger holds the Space Shuttle Orbiter flight time record with 1610 hours. He joined ATK Launch Systems Group in 2006 as Vice President of Advanced Programs.
Robert Lee "Hoot" Gibson, , is a former American naval officer and aviator, test pilot, and aeronautical engineer. A retired NASA astronaut, he also served as Chief of the Astronaut Office from 1992 to 1994. Today Gibson is active as a professional pilot, racing regularly at the annual Reno Air Races. He was inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame in 2003 and the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 2013, and has received several military decorations throughout his career.
David Mathieson Walker, , was an American naval officer and aviator, fighter pilot, test pilot, and a former NASA astronaut. He flew aboard four Space Shuttle missions in the 1980s and 1990s.
Michael Allen Baker is a retired captain in the United States Navy, former NASA astronaut, and the International Space Station Program Manager for International and Crew Operations, at NASA's Johnson Space Center. He is responsible for the coordination of program operations, integration and flight crew training and support activities with the International Partners.
Kathryn Patricia "Kay" Hire is a former NASA astronaut and Captain in the U.S. Navy Reserve who has flown aboard two Space Shuttle missions.
Frank Lee Culbertson Jr. is an American former naval officer and aviator, test pilot, aerospace engineer, NASA astronaut, graduate of the US Naval Academy, and member of the United States Astronaut Hall of Fame. He served as the commander of the International Space Station for almost four months in 2001 and was the only U.S. citizen not on Earth when the September 11 attacks occurred.
Bryan Daniel O'Connor is a retired United States Marine Corps Colonel and former NASA astronaut. He was inducted into the United States Astronaut Hall of Fame in 2008.
Paul William Richards is an American engineer and a former NASA astronaut. He flew aboard one Space Shuttle mission in 2001.
Susan Kilrain is an American aerospace engineer, former United States Navy officer, and a former NASA astronaut. She is the youngest person to pilot a Space Shuttle. She has flown more than 3,000 hours and among her merits she was awarded with the Defense Superior Service Medal.
Gregory Carl "Ray J" Johnson, , is a retired American naval officer and naval aviator, test pilot, aerospace engineer, and NASA astronaut. He spent his military career in both the regular United States Navy and the Navy Reserve. Johnson was the pilot on Space Shuttle mission STS-125, the final Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission.
Barry Eugene "Butch" Wilmore is a NASA astronaut and United States Navy test pilot. He has had three spaceflights, the first of which was an 11-day Space Shuttle mission in November 2009, to the International Space Station. Wilmore was designated as pilot with five other crew members on Space Shuttle Atlantis for the mission STS-129. He served as part of Expedition 41 to the International Space Station, and in 2024 returned to the ISS on the Boeing Crewed Flight Test, the first crewed mission of the Boeing Starliner.
Captain Jane Skiles O'Dea was one of the first six women to earn their wings as U.S. Navy pilots in 1974, and was the first woman qualified in the C-130 Hercules. She was also the first woman in the U.S. Navy qualified as a flight instructor. She was the first female Navy aviator to achieve command and to be selected for the rank of captain.
Captain Rosemary Bryant Mariner was an American pilot and one of the first six women to earn their wings as a United States Naval Aviator in 1974. She was the first female military pilot to fly a tactical jet and the first to achieve command of an operational aviation squadron.
Goddard Space Flight Center is NASA's first, and oldest, space center. It is named after Robert H. Goddard, the father of modern rocketry. Throughout its history, the center has managed, developed, and operated many notable missions, including the Cosmic Background Explorer, the Hubble Space Telescope, the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS), the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, and the Solar Dynamics Observatory.
Kenneth Stanley Reightler Jr. is a former NASA astronaut.
Angelita Castro Kelly was a space scientist and physicist. She is the first female Mission Operations Manager (MOM) of NASA. She spearheaded and supervised the Earth Observing System missions during its developmental stage.
