Image courtesy of NASA

WWU's George "Pinky" Nelson, right, and fellow astronaut James van Hoften perform repairs on a satellite while in orbit in 1984.

by John Thomspon | WWU

Western Washington University's George "Pinky" Nelson, director of the university's Science, Math and Technology Education program, will be inducted into the Astronaut Hall of Fame at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., on May 2.

Nelson, a mission specialist on three Space Shuttle launches including the missions immediately before and after the Challenger disaster, will be inducted into the Hall along with fellow astronauts Bill Sheperd and Jim Wetherbee.

"It's a special honor because the voting is done by our peers, the astronauts who have already been inducted," Nelson said. "We are being recognized not only for our work in space, but just as much for the things we did on the ground to support the program. It's very gratifying."

Nelson will join the ranks of legendary Apollo, Gemini, Skylab, Space Shuttle and Mercury astronauts such as John Glenn, Neil Armstrong, Alan Shepard and Sally Ride.

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During his career with the astronaut corps, Nelson orbited the lanet 274 times, became the first astronaut to repair a satellite in orbit, conducted a number of spacewalks, and was the first and only American to "test fly" the Russian version of the astronaut jetpack, called a manned maneuvering unit. After leaving the astronaut corps, Nelson joined NASA's Space Telescope Repair Mission Task Force, the group formed to provide an independent oversight of the Hubble Space Telescope repair missions, which he chaired until 2003.

Since coming to Western, Nelson has led the work of the North Cascades and Olympics Science Partnership, a joint effort between WWU's Science, Mathematics, and Technology Education program and its Woodring College of Education, local community colleges, and 28 participating school districts to improve the way science is taught in the state's schools.

For information about Nelson or his induction into the Astronaut Hall of Fame, contact WWU's Office of University Communications at (360) 650-3350, or e-mail news@wwu.edu. For information on the Astronaut Hall of Fame, go to http://www.kennedyspacecenter.com/astronaut-hall-of-fame.aspx.