KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. — Three veteran astronauts are the newest members of the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame.
The induction ceremony took place on Saturday at the Space Shuttle Atlantis attraction at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.
>>> STREAM CHANNEL 9 EYEWITNESS NEWS LIVE <<<
Michael Lopez-Alegria, Pamela Melroy and Scott Kelly were all enshrined during Saturday’s ceremony.
All three were members of various space shuttle missions.
They were selected as Astronaut Hall of Famers in 2020, but the ceremony was delayed until now because of the pandemic.
Read: Crew-3 launch brings first-time spectators from around the globe to Titusville
Their induction brings the total number of astronauts enshrined to 102.
LIVE: Three space travelers are being inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame, including our deputy administrator @Astro_Pam. Watch the ceremony: https://t.co/dVheEYm3XY
— NASA (@NASA) November 13, 2021
Melroy was selected as a NASA astronaut in 1994 and is a veteran of three space shuttle missions. She served as a pilot for two flights and commander for her third, making her one of only two women to command a space shuttle.
Melroy retired from NASA in 2007 and was sworn in as the agency’s deputy administrator on June 21.
Read: Splashdown: NASA’s Crew-2 successfully lands off Florida Coast
NASA selected Kelly as an astronaut in 1996. He served as a pilot on his first space shuttle mission and commander on his second. Kelly served two tours about the International Space Station in Oct. 2010 and March 2015.
The agency selected Lopez-Alegria as an astronaut in 1992. He was a mission specialist for three flights aboard the space shuttle and served as commander of Expedition 14 aboard the space station. Lopez-Alegria logged more than 257 days in space and performed 10 spacewalks, totaling 67 hours and 40 minutes.
Congratulations to @CommanderMLA, @Astro_Pam, and @StationCDRKelly who have now been officially inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame! 👨🚀👩🚀👨🚀
— Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex (@ExploreSpaceKSC) November 13, 2021
Join us tomorrow at 11 AM for an exclusive selfie event with our 2020 inductees.
Explore more: https://t.co/uUfa8WdTSH pic.twitter.com/jwyGpXa5XX
The 2021 inductees were selected by a committee of Hall of Fame astronauts, former NASA officials, flight directors, historians, and journalists.
Read: SpaceX successfully launches Falcon 9 rocket carrying Starlink satellites
Click here to download the free WFTV news and weather apps, click here to download the WFTV Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
