On Saturday May 5, the 2012 U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame
ceremony was held at the Kennedy Space Center. Franklin R.
Chang Díaz, Kevin P. Chilton and Charles J. Precourt joined
an elite group of American space heroes as they were
inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame at Kennedy
Space Center Visitor Complex. This is the eleventh group of
space shuttle astronauts named to the U.S. Astronaut Hall of
Fame. Earlier inductees represent the Mercury, Gemini,
Apollo, Skylab and Apollo-Soyuz programs.
The addition of Dr. Chang Díaz, a veteran of seven space
shuttle flights who has logged more than 1,601 hours in
space; Gen. Chilton, the pilot on space shuttle Endeavour's
maiden voyage and the commander of STS-76; and Col. Precourt,
who served as shuttle mission specialist, pilot and
spacecraft commander, will bring the number of space
explorers enshrined in the Hall of Fame to 82.
