CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA Television will provide live coverage of the 2011 U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame induction ceremony at 3 p.m. EDT on Saturday, May 7. 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 Karol J. “Bo” Bobko and Susan J. Helms. Their inductions bring the total number of space explorers enshrined to 79.
Bobko flew on three shuttle missions and logged more than 386 hours in space during his 19 years in the astronaut program. He served as pilot during the first voyage of shuttle Challenger aboard STS-6 in April 1983 and as commander during the maiden flight of shuttle Atlantis aboard STS-51J in October 1985.
Helms flew on the shuttle five times and logged 5,064 hours in space. While serving as a member of the second crew to live aboard the International Space Station in 2001, she performed the longest spacewalk ever at 8 hours and 56 minutes.
NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, a 2006 Hall of Famer, will deliver remarks at the event. CNN reporter John Zarrella will serve as the host.
Reporters interested in covering the event should contact Andrea Farmer at 321-449-4318 or Jillian McRae at 321-449-4273.
For more information about the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame, visit: http://www.kennedyspacecenter.com
For biographies for Bobko and Helms, visit: http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/astrobio_former.html
For NASA TV downlink information, schedules and links to streaming video, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/ntv
