Highland Park High School graduate and U.S. astronaut John Grunsfeld, PH.D, will be inducted into the Astronaut Hall of Fame at the Kennedy Space Center on May 30. He is one of four space shuttle astronauts to be inducted at the public ceremony and joins the ranks of well-known space explorers Alan Shepard, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin.
Grusnfeld flew five missions as a mission specialist and payload commander. On three of these, he performed extensive extravehicular activities to repair the ailing Hubble Space Telescope, according to the Kennedy Space Center’s announcement.
The Chicago Tribune reported that Grunsfeld spent more than 58 days traveling the cosmos and was called “the Hubble Repairman” by President Barack Obama in 2009. Click here for the Tribune story.
Here is information on the Hall of Fame Induction:
When: May 30, 2 – 4:30 pm
Where: Space Shuttle Atlantis
Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex
Astronaut Hall of Fame Induction
Walk Among Greatness on Saturday, May 30 at the 2015 U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame® Induction at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex
You’re invited to be a part of one of the largest gatherings of American astronauts each year – the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame® Induction – on Saturday, May 30, 2 – 4:30 pm. This year, four space shuttle astronauts will be inducted into the Hall of Fame in a public ceremony inside the Visitor Complex’s Space Shuttle Atlantis℠ attraction.
The inductees include:
John Grunsfeld, Ph. D., a mission specialist and payload commander who flew five missions; on three of these, he performed extensive extravehicular activities (EVAs) to repair the ailing Hubble Space Telescope; Steven Lindsey (Colonel, USAF, Ret.) and Kent Rominger (Captain, USN, Ret.), former military aviators who became space shuttle pilots and commanders, each flying five space shuttle missions critical to the construction and support of the International Space Station; and M. Rhea Seddon, M.D., a medical doctor and one of NASA’s first female astronauts, who served as a mission specialist and payload commander on three life sciences missions.
These astronaut heroes will join the ranks of well-known space explorers including Alan Shepard, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. Twenty-five legendary astronauts welcomed the inductees in 2014, including John Blaha, Karol “Bo” Bobko, NASA administrator Charlie Bolden, Vance Brand, Dan Brandenstein, Curt Brown, Kennedy Space Center director Bob Cabana, Frank Culbertson, Walt Cunningham, Bonnie Dunbar, Owen Garriott, Hoot Gibson, Dick Gordon, Fred Gregory, Fred Haise, Steve Hawley, Jeff Hoffman, Edgar Mitchell, Pinky Nelson, Charlie Precourt, Brewster Shaw, Loren Shriver, Tom Stafford, Kathy Thornton and Jim Wetherbee.
This year marks the historic 25th anniversary of the Hall of Fame, which was conceived by the six remaining Mercury astronauts as a place where space explorers could be remembered. Past Hall of Fame inductees include Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, Skylab and Space Shuttle astronauts.