Celebrating Native American Heritage Month: John Herrington, first Native American astronaut

John Herrington, born September 14, 1958 Wetumka, Oklahoma in the Chickasaw Nation, is the first enrolled member of a Native American tribe to fly into space.  He flew aboard Endeavour (STS-113) as mission specialist in November-December 2002.  During the mission, he performed three EVAs with fellow astronaut with fellow astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria for a total of almost 20 hours. 

He was commander of the NEEMO 6 mission of NASA's Aquarius underwater laboratory in July 2004.

On November 21, 2019, he was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame.

Endeavour (STS-113) launched 2002

STS-113 (L-R): Paul S. Lockhart, Michael López-Alegría, John Herrington, James D. Wetherbee

Mission patch

Expedition 6 crew (L-R): Donald Pettit, Ken Bowersox and Nikolai Budarin

Space Shuttle Endeavour (STS-113), launched November 23, 2002, was a mission to exchange Expeditions 5 and 6 on the International Space Station.  Its crew consisted of Commander James Wetherbee, Pilot Paul Lockhart, Michael Lopez-Alegria and John Herrington.  The members of Expedition 6 being carried to the ISS were Kenneth Bowersox, Nikolai Budarin and Donald Pettit.  The returning members of Expedition 5 were Valery Korzun, Peggy Whitson, and Sergei Treshchov.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Michael López-Alegría!

Michael Lopez-Alegria, born May 30, 1958 in Madrid, Spain, is a veteran of three space shuttle missions and one Soyuz mission.  He was raised in Mission Viejo, California and became a Naval Aviator in 1981.  Part of his naval experience was over here at the NAS Patuxent River, Maryland.

His first mission in space was on Columbia (STS-73) October-November 1995 as mission specialist.

His second trip was on Discovery (STS-92) in October 2000 as mission specialist. He conducted two EVAs with fellow astronaut Peter Wisoff.

His third shuttle mission was as mission specialist on Endeavour (STS-113) November-December 2002.  Lopez-Alegria conducted 3 more EVAs with fellow astronaut John Herrington.

His fourth and final flight was aboard Soyuz TMA-9, launched September 18, 2006 to the International Space Station as a member of Expedition 14.  He returned to Earth April 21, 2007.

He holds the second all-time record for EVA duration (67 hours, 40 minutes).  He has the third longest stay in space of American astronauts - 215 days.

Lopez-Alegria retired from NASA March 12, 2012.

Happy birthday, John Herrington, first Chickasaw astronaut!

John Herrington, born September 14, 1958 in Wetumka, Oklahoma into the Chickasaw Nation, became the first enrolled member of a Native American tribe to fly in space.  He flew aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour (STS-113) with Peggy Whitson (first flight) November - December 2002.  It was the last shuttle mission before the Columbia disaster in 2003.

On his thirteenth day in space, he carried the flag of the Chickasaw Nation presented to him by the Chickasaw Nation's governor Bill Anoatubby.  He performed 3 EVAs while working on the International Space Station, logging almost 20 hours in space.