Michael Lopez Alegria of Madrid, along with NASA Deputy Administrators Pam Melroy and Scott Kelly, were inducted into the 2021 US Astronaut Hall of Fame last Saturday. .

Milroy, Lopez Allegria, and Kelly have spent a total of more than 635 days in space. They were honored for demonstrating outstanding achievements in advancing NASA’s Exploration and Discovery mission.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson gave a keynote speech at the event, with former CNN correspondent John Zarella as host. Both praised the new members for their contributions to NASA’s space program.

These three pioneers climbed to the top and surveyed the sky. They broke barriers and set records. “They pushed the limits of humanity’s reach,” Nelson said. “Pam, Michael and Scott, congratulations on this well-deserved recognition. And thank you for challenging us to continue researching and pushing into the unknown.”

Melroy was selected as a NASA astronaut in 1994. A veteran of three space shuttle missions, she served as a pilot on two flights and a commander on the third, making her one of only two women to pilot a space shuttle. Milroy has recorded more than 924 hours in space. She retired from NASA in 2007 and was sworn in as deputy director of the agency on June 21.

“It is a great honor to be inducted into the US Astronaut Hall of Fame with my distinguished colleagues,” Milroy said. “We are now building a program to achieve a series of goals that will provide a blueprint for how to do this We maintain human presence in deep space as we explore the solar system and then the universe. Those of us who have been incredibly lucky to go into space know that all of humanity is the crew of the Earth spacecraft, and it is our duty to take care of each other and our planet.

NASA chose Kelly as an astronaut in 1996. He served as a pilot on his first space shuttle mission and as a commander on his second. In October 2010, Kelly flew the Soyuz TMA-A spacecraft for a working tour aboard the International Space Station (ISS) and commander of Expedition 26. In March 2015, Kelly returned to the station. The spacecraft on a one-year mission he served as flight engineer and later commander. During the mission, nearly 400 experiments were conducted at the station.

The agency chose López-Alegría as the astronaut in 1992. He was a mission specialist for three Space Shuttle flights and served as Expedition 14 commander aboard the International Space Station from September 2006 to April 2007. Lopez Alegria has logged more than 257 days in space and performed 10 spacewalks, for a total of 67 hours and 40 minutes.

The 2021 members were chosen by a panel of Hall of Fame astronauts, former NASA officials, flight managers, historians and journalists. The operation is managed by the Astronaut Foundation, which was founded by the seven original Mercury astronauts in 1984.. To be eligible, an astronaut must have made their first flight at least 17 years prior to entry and retired from NASA at least five years prior. Each candidate must be a US citizen and a commander, pilot, or mission specialist who has been trained at NASA and has orbited the Earth at least once.