Happy Astronaut Day!

Today was National Astronaut Day for 2025! A day to celebrate astronauts. . .

National Astronaut Day! ! !

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A Brief History:
Likeness: The holidays is designed to celebrate the merits of all astronauts.

woman-in-a-spacesuit-with-blue-helmet-7672255 astronaut_1683302861.jpeg Mikhail Nilov at Pexels

Mikhail Nilov at Pexels

Astronaut Day: The day is celebrated because on May 5th in 1961, Astronaut Alan B. Shepard Jr. became the first American to enter space aboard the Mercury Mission, Redstone Rocket 3, synonymous with Freedom 7 Mission Space capsule in a brief suborbital flight that only lasted 15 minutes and reached a height of 116 miles into the atmosphere.

The Difference Between a U.S. Astronaut & Contractor: The United States has undergone truly devastating works in use of NASA, and contracting at least 80%, but as much as 88% of all launches. By contracting, I mean use of private companies, sun as SpaceX, Boeing, Blue Origin, and more. While I grant thanks to such companies, it is unhear of with the amount of the NASA budget to have been doing all the launching themselves.

The U.S. Goes Dangerous: The U.S. launched the Boeing Starliner X in June of 2024. The Boeing Starliner Crew Flight Test (CFT) mission while originally considered a success, turned into a mixed success. The spacecraft successfully launched and docked with the International Space Station (ISS). However, it faced several issues, including thruster failures and helium leaks, raising safety concerns. NASA decided it was unsafe for the spacecraft to return with astronauts and chose to have it return to Earth uncrewed. The Starliner landed safely, but the mission did not meet all its goals due to these critical problems. The real problem came down to outright incompetency. The Boeing Starliner was utilized for the crewed mission, despite SpaceX offering a potentially safer alternative for the same launch. This decision was influenced by several factors, including NASA’s preference for redundancy, the competitive landscape, and Boeing’s extensive history and expertise in space exploration. Also please note, by July 2024, a projected expense for SpaceX, led by Elon Musk, to rescue the stranded astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, was estimated to be approximately $150 million. The U.S. turned the offer down, and that cost considering the cost to launch any rocket would have been a loss for SPaceX, and the offer was still turned down by the Biden administration. This is a commission that claims it is being defunded. The definition of defunding is different than retooling an administration. With the mega-millions spent of NASA, the NASA administration was just yet one other agency that was running dangerously under the Biden administration.

Celebrated: Astronaut Day is celebrated on May 5th every year, founded in 2016 by the Uniphi Space Agency.

astronaut.jpg

astronaut courtesy of Openverse

A Few Facts:
I am sharing a few facts, and more, some trivia, some not trivial. . .

Astronaut  Day:
Information Courtesy NASA.gov
Current Astronauts:
All current U.S. Astronauts in alphabetic order:

A

  1. Ayers, Nichole

B

  1. Barratt, Michael R.
  2. Barron, Kayla
  3. Berríos, Marcos
  4. Birch, Chris
  5. Boe, Eric A.
  6. Bowen, Stephen G.
  7. Bresnik, Randolph J.
  8. Bunham, Deniz

C

  1. Cardman, Zena
  2. Cassada, Josh A.
  3. Chari, Raja

D

  1. Delaney, Luke
  2. Dominick, Matthew
  3. Douglas, Andre
  4. Dyson, Tracy Caldwell (People Page)

E

  1. Epps, Jeanette J.

F

  1. Fincke, E. Michael

G

  1. Glover, Victor J.

H

  1. Hague, Tyler N.
  2. Hathaway, Jack
  3. Hines, Bob
  4. Hoburg, Warren

K

  1. Kim, Jonny
  2. Koch, Christina H.

L

  1. Lindgren, Kjell N.

M

  1. Mann, Nicole Aunapu
  2. McArthur, K. Megan (People Page)
  3. McClain, Anne C.
  4. Meir, Jessica U.
  5. Menon, Anil
  6. Moghbeli, Jasmin
  7. Morgan, Andrew R.

O

  1. O’Hara, Loral (People Page)

P

  1. Pettit, Donald R.

R

  1. Rubins, Kathleen
  2. Rubio, Frank

T

  1. Tingle, Scott D.

V

  1. Vande Hei, Mark T.

W

  1. Walker, Shannon
  2. Watkins, Jessica
  3. Wheelock, Douglas H.
  4. Barry E. Wilmore
  5. Williams, Christopher
  6. Williams, Sunita L.
  7. Wilson, Stephanie D.
  8. Wiseman, G. Reid
  9. Wittner, Jessica
Astronaut Serena Auñón-Chancellor at NASA HQ (NHQ201906140006).jpg

Astronaut Serena Auñón-Chancellor at NASA HQ (NHQ201906140006) courtesy of Openverse

Former Astronauts:
All former U.S. Astronauts in alphabetic order:

A

  1. Acaba, Joseph M.​
  2. Acton, Loren W.
  3. Adamson, James C.
  4. Akers, Thomas D.
  5. Aldrin, Buzz
  6. Allen, Andrew M.
  7. Allen, Joseph P.
  8. Altman, Scott D.
  9. Anders, William A.
  10. Anderson, Clayton C.
  11. Anderson, Michael P. (Deceased)
  12. Antonelli, Dominic A.
  13. Apt, Jerome
  14. Archambault, Lee J.
  15. Armstrong, Neil A. (Deceased)
  16. Ashby, Jeffrey S.

B

  1. Bagian, James P.
  2. Baker, Ellen S.
  3. Baker, Michael A.
  4. Barry, Daniel T.
  5. Bassett, Charles A., II (Deceased)
  6. Bean, Alan L. (Deceased)
  7. Behnken, Robert L
  8. Blaha, John E.
  9. Bloomfield, Michael J.
  10. Bluford, Guion S., Jr.
  11. Bobko, Karol J.
  12. Bolden, Charles F., Jr.
  13. Borman, Frank (Deceased)
  14. Brady, Charles E., Jr. (Deceased)
  15. Brand, Vance D.
  16. Brandenstein, Daniel C.
  17. Bridges, Roy D., Jr.
  18. Brown, Curtis L., Jr.
  19. Brown, David M. (Deceased)
  20. Brown, Mark N.
  21. Buchli, James F.
  22. Buckey, Jay Clark
  23. Bull, John S. (Deceased)
  24. Burbank, Daniel C.
  25. Bursch, Daniel W.

C

  1. Caldeiro, Fernando (Frank) (Deceased)
  2. Camarda, Charles
  3. Cameron, Kenneth D.
  4. Carey, Duane G.
  5. Carpenter, M. Scott (Deceased)
  6. Carr, Gerald (Deceased)
  7. Carter, Manley Lanier, Jr. (Deceased)
  8. Casper, John H.
  9. Cassidy, Christopher J.
  10. Cenker, Robert J.
  11. Cernan, Eugene A. (Deceased)
  12. Chaffee, Roger B. (Deceased)
  13. Chamitoff, Gregory E.
  14. Chang-Díaz, Franklin R.
  15. Chapman, Philip K.
  16. Chawla, Kalpana (Deceased)
  17. Chiao, Leroy
  18. Chilton, Kevin P.
  19. Clark, Laurel B. (Deceased)
  20. Cleave, Mary L. (Deceased)
  21. Clifford, Michael R.
  22. Coats, Michael L.
  23. Cockrell, Kenneth D.
  24. Coleman, Catherine G.
  25. Collins, Eileen M.
  26. Collins, Michael
  27. Conrad, Charles, Jr. (Deceased)
  28. Cooper, L. Gordon, Jr. (Deceased)
  29. Covey, Richard O.
  30. Creighton, John O.
  31. Crippen, Robert L.
  32. Crouch, Roger K.
  33. Culbertson, Frank L., Jr.
  34. Cunningham, Walter (Deceased)
  35. Curbeam, Robert L., Jr.
  36. Currie-Gregg, Nancy J.

D

  1. Davis, N. Jan
  2. Delucas, Lawrence J.
  3. Duffy, Brian
  4. Duke, Charles M., Jr.
  5. Dunbar, Bonnie J.
  6. Durrance, Samuel T.
  7. Dutton, James P.

E

  1. Edwards, Joe F., Jr.
  2. Eisele, Donn F. (Deceased)
  3. England, Anthony W.
  4. Engle, Joe H.
  5. Evans, Ronald E. (Deceased)

F

  1. Fabian, John M.
  2. Favier, Jean-Jacques
  3. Ferguson, Christopher J.
  4. Fettman, Martin J.
  5. Feustel, Andrew J.
  6. Fischer, Jack D.
  7. Fisher, Anna L.
  8. Fisher, William F.
  9. Foale, C. Michael
  10. Ford, Kevin A.
  11. Foreman, Michael J.
  12. Fossum, Michael E.
  13. Freeman, Theodore C. (Deceased)
  14. Frick, Stephen N.
  15. Fullerton, Charles G. (Deceased)

G

  1. Gaffney, F. Drew
  2. Garan, Ronald J., Jr.
  3. Gardner, Dale A. (Deceased)
  4. Gardner, Guy S.
  5. Garn, Jake
  6. Garriott, Owen K. (Deceased)
  7. Gemar, Charles D.
  8. Gibson, Edward G.
  9. Gibson, Robert L.
  10. Givens, Edward G., Jr. (Deceased)
  11. Glenn, John H., Jr. — Deceased
  12. Godwin, Linda M.
  13. Good, Michael T.
  14. Gordon, Richard F., Jr (Deceased)
  15. Gorie, Dominic L.
  16. Grabe, Ronald J.
  17. Graveline, Duane
  18. Gregory, Frederick D.
  19. Gregory, William G.
  20. Griggs, S. David (Deceased)
  21. Grissom, Virgil I. (Deceased)
  22. Grunsfeld, John M.
  23. Gutierrez, Sidney M.

H

  1. Haise, Fred W., Jr.
  2. Halsell, James D., Jr.
  3. Ham, Kenneth T.
  4. Hammond, L. Blaine, Jr.
  5. Harbaugh, Gregory J.
  6. Harris, Bernard A., Jr.
  7. Hart, Terry J.
  8. Hartsfield, Henry W., Jr. (Deceased)
  9. Hauck, Frederick H.
  10. Hawley, Steven A.
  11. Helms, Susan J.
  12. Henize, Karl G. (Deceased)
  13. Hennen, Thomas J.
  14. Henricks, Terence T.
  15. Hernández, José M.
  16. Herrington, John B.
  17. Hieb, Richard J.
  18. Higginbotham, Joan E.
  19. Hire, Kathryn P.
  20. Hobaugh, Charles O.
  21. Hoffman, Jeffrey A.
  22. Holmquest, Donald L.
  23. Horowitz, Scott J.
  24. Hopkins, Michael S.
  25. Hughes-Fulford, Millie
  26. Hurley, Douglas G.
  27. Husband, Rick D. (Deceased)

I

  1. Irwin, James B. (Deceased)
  2. Ivins, Marsha, S.

J

  1. Jarvis, Gregory (Deceased)
  2. Jemison, Mae C.
  3. Jernigan, Tamara E.
  4. Johnson, Gregory C.
  5. Johnson, Gregory H.
  6. Jones, Thomas D.

K

  1. Kadenyuk, Leonid K.
  2. Kavandi, Janet L.
  3. Kelly, Mark E.
  4. Kelly, Scott J.
  5. Kerwin, Joseph P.
  6. Kilrain, Susan L.
  7. Kimbrough, Robert Shane
  8. Kopra, Timothy L.
  9. Kregel, Kevin R.
  10. Kulin, Robb

L

  1. Lawrence, Wendy B.
  2. Lee, Mark C.
  3. Leestma, David C.
  4. Lenoir, William B. (Deceased)
  5. Leslie, Fred W.
  6. Lichtenberg, Byron K.
  7. Lind, Don L.
  8. Lindsey, Steven W.
  9. Linenger, Jerry M.
  10. Linteris, Gregory T.
  11. Llewellyn, John A.
  12. Lockhart, Paul S.
  13. Lopez-Alegria, Michael E.
  14. Loria, Christopher J.
  15. Lounge, John M. (Deceased)
  16. Lousma, Jack R.
  17. Lovell, James A., Jr.
  18. Low, G. David (Deceased)
  19. Lu, Edward T.
  20. Lucid, Shannon W.

M

  1. Magnus, Sandra H.
  2. Malerba, Franco
  3. Marshburn, Thomas H.
  4. Massimino, Michael J.
  5. Mastracchio, Richard A.
  6. Mattingly, Thomas K., II (Ken) (Deceased)
  7. McArthur, William S., Jr.
  8. McAuliffe, S. Christa (Deceased)
  9. McBride, Jon A.
  10. McCandless, Bruce (Deceased)
  11. McCool, William C. (Deceased)
  12. McCulley, Michael J.
  13. McDivitt, James A.
  14. McMonagle, Donald R.
  15. McNair, Ronald E. (Deceased)
  16. Meade, Carl J.
  17. Melnick, Bruce E.
  18. Melvin, Leland D.
  19. Metcalf-Lindenburger, Dorothy M.
  20. Michel, F. Curtis (Deceased)
  21. Mitchell, Edgar D. (Deceased)
  22. Morgan, Barbara R.
  23. Mukai, Chiaki
  24. Mullane, Richard M.
  25. Musgrave, Story

N

  1. Nagel, Steven R. (Deceased)
  2. Nelson, George D.
  3. Newman, James H.
  4. Noriega, Carlos I.
  5. Nowak, Lisa M.
  6. Nyberg, Karen L.

O

  1. O’Connor, Bryan D.
  2. Ochoa, Ellen
  3. Oefelein, William A.
  4. O’Leary, Brian T. (Deceased)
  5. Olivas, John D.
  6. Onizuka, Ellison S. (Deceased)
  7. Oswald, Stephen S.
  8. Overmyer, Robert F. (Deceased)

P

  1. Pailes, William A.
  2. Parazynski, Scott E.
  3. Parise, Ronald A. (Deceased)
  4. Parker, Robert A. R.
  5. Patrick, Nicholas J. M.
  6. Pawelczyk, James A.
  7. Payton, Gary E.
  8. Peterson, Donald H. (Deceased)
  9. Phillips, John L.
  10. Pogue, William R. (Deceased)
  11. Poindexter, Alan G. (Deceased)
  12. Polansky, Mark L.
  13. Precourt, Charles J.

R

  1. Ramon, Ilan (Deceased)
  2. Readdy, William F.
  3. Reightler, Kenneth S., Jr.
  4. Reilly, James F.
  5. Reisman, Garrett E.
  6. Resnik, Judith A. (Deceased)
  7. Richards, Richard N.
  8. Ride, Sally K. (Deceased)
  9. Robertson, Patricia C. (Hilliard) (Deceased)
  10. Robinson, Stephen K.
  11. Rominger, Kent V.
  12. Roosa, Stuart A. (Deceased)
  13. Ross, Jerry L.
  14. Runco, Mario, Jr.

S

  1. Sacco, Jr., Albert
  2. Satcher, Robert L., Jr.
  3. Schirra, Walter M., Jr. (Deceased)
  4. Schmitt, Harrison H.
  5. Schweickart, Russell L.
  6. Scobee, Francis R. (Deceased)
  7. Scott, David R.
  8. Scott, Winston E.
  9. Scully-Power, Paul D.
  10. Searfoss, Richard A. (Deceased)
  11. Seddon, Margaret Rhea
  12. See, Elliot M., Jr. (Deceased)
  13. Sega, Ronald M.
  14. Sellers, Piers J. (Deceased)
  15. Shaw, Brewster H., Jr.
  16. Shepard, Alan B., Jr. (Deceased)
  17. Shepherd, William M.
  18. Shriver, Loren J.
  19. Slayton, Donald K. (Deceased)
  20. Smith, Michael J. (Deceased)
  21. Smith Steven L.
  22. Spring, Sherwood C.
  23. Springer, Robert C.
  24. Stafford, Thomas P. (Deceased)
  25. Stefanyshyn-Piper, Heidemarie M.
  26. Stewart, Robert L.
  27. Stott, Nicole P.
  28. Sturckow, Frederick W.
  29. Sullivan, Kathryn D.
  30. Swanson, Steven R.
  31. Swigert, John L., Jr. (Deceased)

T

  1. Tani, Daniel M.
  2. Tanner, Joseph R.
  3. Thagard, Norman E.
  4. Thomas, Andrew S.W.
  5. Thomas, Donald A.
  6. Thorne, Stephen D. (Deceased)
  7. Thornton, Kathryn C.
  8. Thornton, William E. (Deceased)
  9. Trinh, Eugene H.
  10. Truly, Richard H. (Deceased)

V

  1. Van Den Berg, Lodewijk
  2. Van Hoften, James D. A.
  3. Veach, Charles Lacy (Deceased)
  4. Virts, Terry W., Jr.
  5. Voss, James S.
  6. Voss, Janice E. (Deceased)

W

  1. Walheim, Rex J.
  2. Walker, Charles D.
  3. Walker, David M. (Deceased)
  4. Walz, Carl E.
  5. Wang, Taylor
  6. Weber, Mary E.
  7. Weitz, Paul J. (Deceased)
  8. Wetherbee, James D.
  9. White, Edward H., II (Deceased)
  10. Whitson, Peggy A.
  11. Williams, Clifton C., Jr. (Deceased)
  12. Williams, Donald E. (Deceased)
  13. Wilmore, Barry E.
  14. Wisoff, Peter J. K.
  15. Wolf, David A.
  16. Woodward III, Neil W.
  17. Worden, Alfred M.

Y

  1. Young, John W. (Deceased)

Z

  1. Zamka, George D.
Scientist-astronaut Harrison Schmitt.jpg

Scientist-astronaut Harrison Schmitt courtesy of Openverse

Partner Astronaut Agencies:
International Astronaut agencies:

The Present:
The National Aeronautics and Space Program (NASA) program is a great program with some dedicated people who are in and have been in over the years since the inception of the space program!

The Future:
It is up to the upcoming youth to keep it going, and for it to last into the years to come. . .

Previous Versatileer Posts with Manned Missions:

Happy National Space Day – 2025

Happy International Day For Human Space Flight – 2025

Happy National Look Up at the Sky Day – 2025

Splashdown! SpaceX Crew-9 Dragon Spacecraft Rescues Astronauts That Were Abandoned & Lost in Space – March 18, 2025

Remembering Challenger Shuttle – 39 Years Later

SpaceX Starship Rocket Launch 6 Today – November 19, 2024

Recap of the Famous SpaceX Starship Rocket Launch – October 13, 2024

4th Year Anniversary of the Return to NASA Flight + Mars Rover Mission Continues in 2024

Celebrating 55 Years Since the Moon Landing: Apollo 11 on July 20, 1969

NASA Launch a Success: Boeing Starliner X Crew Flight Test Launch

3rd Year Anniversary of the Return to NASA Flight as the Mars Rover Mission Continues

Happy National Astronaut & Space Day – 2023

Happy International Day For Human Space Flight – 2023

Successful Launch of Artemis I Mission to Moon – Cape Canaveral, Florida

Successful Launch of Falcon 9 Rocket, Dragon Spacecraft – Endurance

2nd Year Anniversary of the Return to NASA Flight & Mars Rover Mission Continues

Recent Astronaut & Space Days – 2022

International Day For Human Space Flight – 2022

25 Year Anniversary: NASA Atlas Rocket Liftoff – March 8, 1997

William Shatner Ready For Spaceflight – Launch of Blue Origin Rocket Today

Year Anniversary of the Return to NASA Flight & Launch to Mars: Info & Trivia

Featured Photo Montage: NASA Retro Mission Patch Party

Happy Launch Day – NASA & SpaceX Crew-1 Dragon ‘Resilience’!

Astronauts Return – Safe!

Recap: NASA Retro Mission Patch Facebook Party

Facebook Party Wrap-Up: NASA Getting Ready in Minutes for Liftoff & Featured Photo: Ensemble of Liftoff Photos Atlas Rocket – March 1997

Facebook Party: NASA Liftoff & Featured Photo: Runway at NASA in Cape Canaveral – Florida

More. . . See ALL NASA posts HERE: #NASA

FREEBIES & DEALS For Astronaut & Space Day:
🚀 FREE: Astronaut & Space Day: Fonts
🚀 FREE: Astronaut & Space Day: Crafts + Printable
🚀 CHEAP: Astronaut & Space Day: Ideas, Crafts & Worksheets
🚀 FREE: Astronaut & Space Day:  AT “Hey It’s Free”

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Photo by 51581 courtesy of Pixabay

National Astronaut Day

Compilation of the “Great American Eclipse”, 04/08/24





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