posted 12-18-2009 07:43 AM               

• Guion "Guy" Bluford (STS-8, STS-61A, STS-39, STS-53)
  
• Ken Bowersox (STS-50, 61, 73, 82, 113, ISS-6)
  
• Frank Culbertson (STS-38, 51, 105, ISS-3)
  
• Kathy Thornton (STS-33, 49, 61, 73)

First African-American in space among four joining Astronaut Hall of Fame

Two astronauts who were off the planet during separate American tragedies over the past decade, a record-setting female spacewalker who helped save the Hubble Telescope and the first African-American to fly in space will be inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame...

posted 01-27-2010 04:23 PM               

I've contacted Nicole at the ASF and she said she would try to put all of us cS members together at the same table. No promises, but she feels it won't be a problem. So if you are buying the $200 ticket just indicate in the 'Notes' section of the ordering page that you'd like to sit with the other collectSPACE members. (Also include my name, Rob Joyner, for them just to be clear)

I think if you get the more expensive VIP ticket you automatically have other seating arrangements, but you could still request the cS table if you'd like.

posted 05-06-2010 03:19 PM               

NASA Astronaut Heroes Set for Induction into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame

The public is invited to celebrate the induction of the ninth group of space shuttle astronauts into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame. Veteran space shuttle astronauts Guion Bluford, Jr., Kenneth Bowersox, Frank Culbertson, Jr., and Kathryn Thornton will join the ranks of legendary space pioneers like Neil Armstrong, John Glenn, Alan Shepard, and Sally Ride. The public ceremony at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex will be held Saturday, June 5 at 2:30 p.m. Jon Cryer, Emmy Award winning star of "Two and a Half Men," will host the Induction ceremony.

Each inductee brings their own chapter to the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame. The addition of Bluford, the first African American to fly in space; Bowersox, pilot of the first maintenance mission to restore the crippled Hubble Space Telescope; Culbertson, commander of the first space shuttle night landing at Kennedy Space Center; and Thornton, a mission specialist during the first and only three-person spacewalk, will bring the number of space explorers enshrined in the Hall of Fame to 77. More than 30 astronauts have accepted invitations to attend the ceremony including Buzz Aldrin, Charlie Duke, Scott Carpenter, Al Worden and Walt Cunningham.

"It is a thrill to be able to honor the men and women who gave us a gift that grows more precious and rare with each passing day: inspiration," said Jon Cryer, this year's host of the Induction ceremony. Cryer gained fame with his iconic performance as an endearing misfit in the film "Pretty in Pink," and is an Emmy Award winning actor. He is most recently known for his role in TV's #1 comedy series "Two and a Half Men."

As part of the weekend celebration, special Induction weekend ticket packages are available for $70 plus tax for adults and $50 plus tax for children 3-11 years and include the following:

• Special guided Kennedy Space Center bus tour with a Hall of Fame astronaut
  
• Reserved seating at the Induction Ceremony
  
• Commemorative poster of the 2010 Inductees
  
• Two-day admission to Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex and the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame

The special bus tour included with the Induction ticket package will be guided by one of these distinguished Hall of Fame astronauts:

• Buzz Aldrin: Gemini 12, Apollo 11 astronaut; Hall of Fame class of 1993
  
• Charlie Duke: Apollo 16 Lunar Module Pilot; Hall of Fame class of 1997
  
• Jack Lousma: Skylab 3 and space shuttle astronaut; Hall of Fame class of 1997
  
• George "Pinky" Nelson: Three-time space shuttle astronaut; Hall of Fame class of 2009

Hall of Fame astronaut guides will be assigned at random to all tours. Autograph requests will not be honored during the tour. There are a limited number of tickets available on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Viewing of the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony is included with regular admission to Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. Induction weekend ticket packages are available by phone at 877-313-2610 or online at KennedySpaceCenter.com.

posted 05-25-2010 02:41 PM               

quote:

---

Originally posted by MarylandSpace:
Are there any tentative astronaut book signings at the AHOF induction weekend?

---

It doesn't give any more info about who will be signing or what can be signed.

posted 05-28-2010 04:44 PM               

Saturday, June 5, 2010

12:30 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. - Autograph session with the following astronauts:

2009 Hall of Fame Astronaut Bill Shepherd - STS-27, STS-41, STS-52 and commander of the Expedition 1 crew on the International Space Station.

2008 Hall of Fame Astronaut Loren Shriver - STS-51C, STS-31, and STS-46.

2007 Hall of Fame Astronaut Jeff Hoffman – STS-51-D, STS-35, STS-46, STS-61, and STS-75.

Autograph sessions will take place in the Astronaut Encounter Theater.

* Please note the autograph signing is for the allotted time only. In consideration for others, only one item per person permitted at all signings. Items for signature will be available for purchase on site at the Space Shop prior to the signing. Astronaut schedules are subject to change.

posted 06-04-2010 05:05 AM               

NASA TV Airing U.S. Astronaut Hall Of Fame Induction

NASA Television will provide live coverage of the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame 2010 induction ceremony on Saturday, June 5, at 2:30 p.m. EDT. The ceremony will take place at NASA's Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida.

Joining the hall of fame this year are former astronauts Guy Bluford Jr., the first African-American to fly in space; Ken Bowersox, pilot of the first maintenance mission to restore NASA's Hubble Space Telescope; Frank Culbertson Jr., commander of the first space shuttle night landing at Kennedy; and Kathy Thornton, a mission specialist during the first three-person spacewalk flight.

Jon Cryer, Emmy Award winning comedian in the TV series "Two and a Half Men," is hosting the event. NASA Administrator and former astronaut Charles Bolden will introduce one of the inductees.

posted 06-06-2010 06:07 AM               

I also had an opportunity to meet and speak with a few of our astronauts. Sam Gemar was the Encounter Astronaut for the day and gave a wonderful talk about his experience and engaged the audience very well. I would highly recommend Sam to anyone looking for a guest speaker.

From 12:30 to 1:30PM Jeff Hoffman, Bill Shepherd and Loren Shriver conducted a signing. Steve and I were near the front of the line and laughed when we saw that the graphics on the screen showed that Bill "Shepard" was signing. So THAT'S how he got to be an astronaut! He took the jokes well and even joked that he would sign "Alan Shepard" if asked. I asked "Shep" if he knew if the ISS Ship's Log was still being updated and he replied that as far as he knew it's use was sporadic. He then replied that he thought the ship's bell was still in use and I was able to confirm that.

Later I met and had an opportunity to speak with both Carl Walz and Ken Bowersox. I asked Carl if he ever considered writing (along with other ISS expedition crew members) a book detailing their experiences similar the the Lebedev book: "Diary of a Cosmonaut" about Lebedev's time aboard the Salyut space station. He said that he has written an outline, Susan Helms has started a table of contents to organize their thoughts but work and life keep getting in the way.

So a side note to my cS author friends, here's a project for you. Contact all the Expedition crew and interview them like Andy Chaikin did for Apollo.

I was wearing seven lapel pins on my "collectSPACE" shirt for each of the crew patches I helped design and had flown. (I probably resembled a "Hero of the Soviet Union" with all that on.) Carl asked about them and I told of my involvement. He was the patch coordinator for the STS-79 mission.

I congratulated Ken on both his induction and the successful launch of the Falcon 9. I mentioned that I had never before seen a last second launch abort followed by a launch 2.5 hours later. He replied that the system is designed to be very robust and that the abort was caused by a software program detecting limits close to being exceeded. He continued that the same guys who build the engines, test the engines so they are especially familiar with what they can and cannot do. I wished him and Space X continued success.

Jon Cryer was the Emcee and immediately brought up and answered the question a lot of us had "Why was he there?" Turns out he's one of us, a self described "space geek". He told of how he's collected and built all the models making sure to place the decals on them just so. He has them displayed on a shelf at home. One of his highlights of this trip was to ask Aldrin: "So Buzz, was it like awesome to walk on the Moon and stuff?" He was very funny and I hope Robert took the opportunity to invite him to join cS.

The best part of the AHOF induction ceremony for me is the intimacy of it. Canton and Cooperstown have massive crowds of enthusiastic football and baseball fans who I'm sure enjoy their experience. The AHOF and the space program deserve that level of support but typically there's only 500 or so in attendance at the event. But it's a very knowledgeable and loyal group. When astronauts are inducted (typically by a crew commander) we all get the jokes, we're already familiar with the history so it's more like a family affair.

Al Worden announced that six additional colleges have been approved by the ASF Board of Directors so next year they will award 25 $10,000 scholarships. A long way from the 7 $1,000 scholarships awarded the first year in 1984. I hope that the ASF can continue to build on that success but I hope the events never become so large as to be impersonal.

posted 06-06-2010 06:53 PM               

The four astronauts were chosen by a committee of more than 80 retired NASA officials, historians, journalists and all the members of the Hall of Fame, as overseen by the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation (ASF). To be eligible for consideration this year, the astronauts needed to have made their first flight in 1992 or earlier; have been retired from flight status as a NASA commander, pilot or mission specialist for at least five years; be a U.S. citizen; and have orbited the Earth at least once.

posted 06-07-2010 07:09 AM               

Jeff wasn't at the gala (he and his family were dining in Cocoa Beach) but that led to a quite humorous phone call from Walt Cunningham (with microphone) from the gala stage.

posted 06-07-2010 04:18 PM               

We did not attend the gala because sometimes our 6 year old gets tired by 9:00 p.m. and we weren't sure how long the dinner would run.

My wife, daughter and I were sitting on the pier in Cocoa Beach, sort of lamenting the fact that we'd skipped the gala, when I got a call on my cell phone. We're from Virginia, so seeing the famous "321" area code show up I immediately thought the hotel might be calling to complain about my dogs barking or something.

My recollection gets a little fuzzy after the caller said "This is Walt Cunningham..."
but it was something like "What would you say if I told you that you won the raffle?"

I think I said, "Are you serious??", about three or four times at least.

Of course, if I had actually been present, I probably wouldn't have won, but it would've been nice to win it in person.

We spoke to Walt the next day after the ceremony and thanked him for the call. He was very friendly.

New inductee Kathy Thornton told us that she'd spoken up, jokingly volunteering to bring it to us in person, as she lives close to us in Virgina.

More importantly, we got a chance to thank some of the ASF people. We've met Susie Cooper before, and she remembered us. She and her daughters are very nice.

posted 06-07-2010 09:48 PM               

At the Friday dinner I got to tell Buzz that I voted for him every chance I got while he was on Dancing with the Stars, and he was very appreciative. He really liked a gift I brought him and it might be put on one of his app pages. If it makes it in I'll let everyone know!

Induction ceremony host Jon Cryer told me he was simply amazed to be among such living legends and that he and his young son were looking forward very much to taking in as much of KSC as possible being this was their first visit.

Shaking hands with Guy Bluford was just...just...WOW. Though we spoke only briefly I came away knowing I had just met one of the most humble astronauts ever flown. I told him this day had been a long time coming and he slowly nodded his head in agreement replying my comment was quite true and that it has been a long road. If you've seen his acceptance speech you know what I mean.

A few other astronauts I had the pleasure of meeting for the first time were Bowersox, Culbertson, Shepherd, Gemar and Nelson, whom I asked how he felt to be in this elite club for a year now. His reply? "Old!" After asking Culbertson if he was nervous about the induction the next day he said that he still found it hard to believe that he was even considered for such an honor. I've asked that same question of many of the inductees over the years and Culbertson's reply is what I hear most often. I wish all of you reading could attend the entire AHOF weekend at some point, especially those of you who haven't had the opportunity to meet many astronauts. Yes, they are our heroes and living legends, but you honestly and genuinely feel at home among these people. Because they are all so respectful and humble, speaking with them is as easy as talking over the fence with your next door neighbor about the weather. And they really appreciate everyone who donates to the ASF by attending the annual gala dinner. I've been personally thanked by Hauck, Blaha, Melnick, Worden, McBride and others for being there over the years. They don't have to do that, but they make it a point. The right stuff? You better believe it.

Tim mentioned earlier that during the start of the signings by Hoffman, Shriver and Shepherd he noticed Shepherd's name was spelled "Shepard" on the projection screen. I noticed that too and said aloud that I couldn't believe they had misspelled his name like that. I guess it got back to an employee because after meeting the astronauts a few minutes later I looked up at the screen to see his name had been corrected! That reminded me that I forgot to look behind the curtain at a certain display in the Apollo/Saturn V Center Friday night during the dinner to see if Armstrong's first name had been changed from "Neal"! Last time I was there at the center a few months ago the display was located just to the left as you enter the main room under the first stage.

Before the ceremony on Saturday I watched Hubble 3D for the second time on the IMAX screen. Such incredible footage and photos! Five stories tall and in 3D! The Helix and Eagle Nebulas look simply unbelievable! And the fly-through to the Orion Nebula is mesmerizing!

To me, it seemed there wasn't as many people as in the past for the induction ceremony, which lasted about an hour and forty-five minutes. In fact, though all of the chairs provided were being used at first, more than just a few people eventually left. I was near the back in order to get the complete stage on video. My row was almost empty by the end, as were a few others, and there wasn't really a lot of people standing along outside the chaired area either, but for a few here and there. It was VERY hot so that probably had a lot to do with it. Having the induction in June this year instead of May did make a difference temperature wise. It's too bad Alan Shepard didn't first fly in the month of March. That's a better month for an outdoor ceremony! I think the large conference room in the Debus building would be a better location for a similar amount of people, or perhaps one of the IMAX theatres or the Astronaut Encounter auditorium, as they both already have large seating capacities. Hmmm. Delaware North hiring?!

posted 06-08-2010 12:42 PM               

The co-star of CBS's sitcom "Two and a Half Men" hosted the induction of three men and a woman into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame Saturday at NASA's Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida.

Emmy award-winning actor Jon Cryer served as emcee for the induction ceremony that reunited more than 20 Hall of Fame astronauts to honor 2010 inductees Guy Bluford, Ken Bowersox, Frank Culbertson and Kathy Thornton.

"So why is TV's Jon Cryer here?" the acclaimed actor and director posed to the audience. "I'm actually here because I am a 'space geek' and I think I represent space geeks everywhere. I have been one all my life and to be standing here at the Kennedy Space Center is just a fanboy dream come true."

posted 06-08-2010 05:33 PM               

Page 23, bottom left! A moment I will never forget!