Astronauts Shannon Lucid and Jerry Ross have finally joined the elite roster of astronauts included in the Astronaut Hall of Fame. Both astronauts are veterans of NASA's former Space Shuttle Program.
Last Saturday, May 3, the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex (KSCVC) held a relatively simple ceremony to induct both Lucid and Ross into the Hall of Fame. Both veteran astronauts have led distinguished careers.
"The ceremony was held in the new Space Shuttle Atlantis attraction at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex," says the KSCVC. "Atlantis carried Lucid to Mir for her historic 188 days on the space station in 1996, and five of Ross's seven flights were on Atlantis, so it's fitting that they received this great honor underneath the orbiter herself."
Lucid is a biochemist that joined NASA back in 1978. She went on to fly in a total of five missions to space. On one of Lucid's mission, she set the record for the longest continuous stay in space for a woman and for an American. Lucid set her famous record during her stay at the Russian Mir space station.
On the other hand, Ross is a former officer of the U.S. Air Force. He joined NASA back in 1980, just two years after Lucid signed up for the astronaut program. In total, Ross flew a total of seven missions on board NASA space shuttles. Like Lucid, Ross also holds an important space record. Over the course of his career, Ross set the record for the most number of spaceflights. He shares the record with Franklin Chang-Diaz, another NASA astronaut.
In recognition of their service to the country and to advancement of spaceflight in general, it was announced back in Feb. 7 that the pair would be inducted into the Astronaut Hall of Fame. Only the best of the elite are chosen for the honor and Lucid and Ross are part of the 13th batch to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. During the induction ceremony, 25 other notable astronauts were also present. Curt Brown and Bonnie Dunbar, last year's inductees, also attended the ceremony. Other notable VIPs included Charlie Bolden, the current administrator of NASA and Bob Cabana, the director of the Kennedy Space Center.
There are stringent requirements that need to be met before an astronaut is eligible for nominations into the Astronaut Hall of Fame. Aside from being a U.S. citizen, other requirements include having orbiting the Earth at least once and having gone though NASA's training modules for mission specialists, pilots or commanders. Additionally, candidates should also have made their first flight at least 17 years before their nomination to the Hall of Fame.
