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New Class of Astronauts to be Inducted into the Hall of Fame

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — When the US Astronaut Hall of Fame holds its annual induction ceremony on Saturday two new plaques will be added to their walls.

Veteran Astronauts Roy Bridges, Jr, and US Arizona Senator Mark Kelly will be the newest to be honored at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. An official ceremony and gala will take place beneath the Iconic Space Shuttle Atlantis

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Bridges and Kelly comprise the 24th class of astronauts to be honored, bringing the total number of inductees to 107.

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Roy Bridges will be coming home to his Kennedy Space Center family, where he served as Center Director from 1997 to 2003. Mark Kelly will be celebrating with his identical twin brother, Scott, who was inducted into the Astronaut Hall of Fame with the class of 2020.

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As U.S. Senator for Arizona, Mark Kelly serves as chair of the Airland subcommittee on Senate Armed Services, which oversees the Army and Air Force planning, operations, and programs. Kelly will also be the second sitting Senator to be honored, following John Glenn’s placement in 1990.

Each year, inductees are selected by a committee of Hall of Fame astronauts, former NASA officials, flight directors, historians, and journalists. The process is administered by the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation.

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“This year’s class is another example of excellence from our space program,” said Curt Brown, board chairman of the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation. “

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Michelle Shore, WFTV.com

Michelle Shore joined WFTV Channel 9 in 2023 as a Content Creator.