Astronaut John B. Herrington is scheduled to visit NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., on Wednesday, November 12. Herrington is the first declared tribally enrolled Native American (Chickasaw) astronaut to fly into outer space.
Herrington is scheduled to spend the morning meeting with students from surrounding communities to share his experience of a dream come true, venturing into outer space. Not only was STS-113 his first flight, he was also able to participate in several space walks. Aboard Endeavour, Herrington logged over 330 hours in space, including 3 EVAs (Extra Vehicular Activity), totaling 19 hours and 55 minutes.
His visit is the highlight of a month of activities at Goddard in observance of Native American History Month. “Celebrating Our Journey, Sharing Our Vision,” is the theme for this year’s national observance of Native American history throughout the month of November.
According to Wanda David, Native American Program Manager at the Equal Opportunity Employment Office, “Goddard’s observance is intended to enlighten our communities about contributions made by Native Americans in support of NASA missions.” Herrington was recently acknowledged for his participation in the recovery efforts of space shuttle Columbia. Herrington was assigned to the command center in Lufkin, Texas, coordinating helicopter searches from the operations office.
News media representatives who wish to cover Herringtonís visit to Goddard should contact the GSFC newsroom at (301) 286-8955 to arrange for press accreditation and access to the center.
