Jose Hernandez, born August 7, 1962 in French Camp, California, went into space aboard Discovery (STS-128) as mission specialist to the International Space Station in August 2009. He spent almost 14 days in space. He retired from NASA in January 2011. He is one of about 14 Hispanic astronauts who have flown with NASA.
John Daniel Olivas and Jose Moreno Hernandez, both born in California, are Mexican-American astronauts, who flew together on Discovery (STS-128) in August-September 2009. It was the first Space Shuttle flight with two Hispanics on board. Olivas had flown on Atlantis (STS-117) in June 2007. During mission STS-128, Olivas performed three EVAs.
Standing (L-R): Jose Hernandez, John Olivas, Nicole Stott, Christer Fuglesang, Patrick Forrester
Discovery took off August 28, 2009, the 25th anniversary of its first flight just seconds before midnight, so NASA can say it is the first (probably the only) time a launch took place over two calendar days.
Her crew consisted of Commander Frederick Sturckow, Pilot Kevin Ford, Mission specialist 1 Patrick Forrester, Mission Specialist 2 Jose Hernandez, Mission Specialist 3 John Olivas, Mission Specialist 4 Christer Fuglesang (ESA - Sweden) and Mission Specialist Nicole Stott.
It is the first time two astronauts of Mexican heritage were in space at the same time. Olivas performed 3 EVAs, once with Stott and twice with Fuglesang.
