Miami (EFE).- Arizona Senator Mark Kelly and retired US Air Force Major General Roy Bridges, both NASA space shuttle pilots, will be inducted into the US Astronaut Hall of Fame USA, reports the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The two will be awarded what is one of the highest distinctions in the aerospace industry on May 6, in a ceremony to be held at the Kennedy Space Center Visitors Complex, in Titusville, Florida, and with the historic space shuttle. Atlantis background.
“Both Kelly and Bridges embody the committed spirit of exploration, courage and teamwork that make our space program a continued success,” Astronaut Scholarship Foundation Board Chairman Curt Brown said in a statement. who oversees the recruitment process.
Kelly joins his twin brother Scott, who in 2020 was inducted into this Hall of Fame, inaugurated in 1990, which includes 107 NASA astronauts who have stood out for their contributions to space exploration, even after retiring from active duty with the American agency.
the astronaut twins
With Mark’s induction, the Kelly brothers also hold the honor of being “the first set of identical brothers and twins” to be inducted into this honor group, the Kennedy Space Center said, noting that Mark Kelly will be the second senator. acting to be admitted, following John Glenn in 1990.
Kelly, with a degree in marine engineering and nautical science from the US Merchant Marine Academy, made the first of his four space voyages with the shuttle Endeavor in December 2001.
Two years later, he led the team to recover the remains of the STS-107 mission aboard the Columbia ship, which exploded during its re-entry to Earth and its crew died in the accident.
This retired US Navy captain, who was elected a federal senator from Arizona in 2020, retired from NASA in 2011 after commanding the final flight of Endeavor and after serving more than 50 days in space and traveling more 20 million miles.
Bridges, dedicated to the space and aviation industry
For his part, Bridges, a graduate of the US Air Force Academy and a master’s degree in astronautics from Purdue University, was selected as an astronaut in 1980 and remained as such until May 1986.
His first spaceflight was as a pilot in July 1985 aboard the Challenger shuttle, six months before the spacecraft exploded a minute after taking off from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
Bridges has spent virtually his entire career in the space and aviation industry, serving as director of the Kennedy Space Center from 1997 to 2003, and then from 2003 to 2005.
He was director of the NASA Langley Research Center before moving into the private sector with a management position at Northrop Grumman. He retired in 2019.