Venturing into space is one of the most awe-inspiring and powerful journey's a person can undertake. The New Yorkers in Space data table provides the superlatives and a brief snapshot into the lives of the 31 New Yorkers who have travelled into space. We hope you will be inspired by their stories, and may they encourage you to pursue your own dreams in the future.
In total, NYers have spent 3 years, 11 months, 25 days, 19 hours, and 38 minutes in space!
Astronaut | Birthplace | Missions | Time In Space | Notes | Region ▲ |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nicole Stott | Albany | STS 128, 133 | 103 days, 5 hours, and 49 minutes | Sent 1st live tweet from space. | Capital Region |
Jeanette Epps | Syracuse | Expedition 70/71 | 76 days, 19 hours, and 7 minutes | Syracuse native waited 6 years to fly aboard Boeing's ill-fated Starliner before finally flying to the International Space Station on SpaceX-8 in March of 2024. | Central NY |
Lawrence DeLucas | Syracuse | STS 50 | 13 days, 19 hours, and 30 minutes | Has published 163 research articles and and is co-author on 43 patents. | Central NY |
Steven Swanson | Syracuse | STS 117, 119 | 195 days, 20 hours, and 47 minutes | Has spent more than 195 days in space, including almost 28 hours on 5 EVA's. | Central NY |
C Gordon Fullerton | Rochester | STS 3, STS 51-F | 15 days, 22 hours, and 50 minutes | Served on the support crews for the Apollo 14,15,16, & 17 Moon landings. | Finger Lakes |
James Adamson | Warsaw | STS 28, 43 | 13 days, 22 hours, and 21 minutes | A Master Army Aviator, he commanded nuclear missile units before becoming an astronaut. | Finger Lakes |
Kevin Kregel | Amityville | STS 70, 78, 87, 99 | 52 days, 18 hours, and 21 minutes | Was awarded NASA's Exceptional Service Medal. | Long Island |
Mary Cleave | Southampton | STS 61-B, STS 30 | 10 days, 22 hours, and 2 minutes | Accomplished environmental engineer in addition to being an astronaut. | Long Island |
Mike Massimino | Oceanside | STS 109, 125 | 23 days, 19 hours, and 47 minutes | Both missions to space were Hubble service missions, and his post-NASA career has featured extensive media appearances. | Long Island |
Jeffrey Hoffman | Scarsdale | STS 51-D, 35, 46, 61, 75 | 50 days, 11 hours, and 54 minutes | 1st Jewish NASA astronaut. | Mid-Hudson |
Ronald Garan Jr. | Yonkers | STS 124 | 177 days, 23 hours, and 54 minutes | Served as a combat pilot in Operations Desert Storm & Desert Shield before becoming an astronaut. | Mid-Hudson |
Robert Gibson | Cooperstown | STS 41-B, 61-C, 27, 47, 71 | 36 days, 4 hours, and 15 minutes | After retiring from NASA he became a professional air racer. | Mohawk Valley |
Micheal Anderson | Plattsburgh | STS 89, 107 | 24 days, 18 hours, and 8 minutes | An accomplished Air Force pilot who 1st flew to space in 1998, he perished during the Columbia disaster in February 2003. | North Country |
Anna Lee Fischer | Queens | STS 51-A | 7 days, 23 hours, and 44 minutes | 1st mother in space. | NYC |
Bruce Melnick | Manhattan | STS 41, 49 | 12 days, 23 hours, and 27 minutes | 1st Coast Guard aviator in space. | NYC |
Charles Camarda | Queens | STS 114 | 13 days, 21 hours, and 32 minutes | Served as a crew member on NASA's 'Return to Flight' mission after the Columbia disaster. | NYC |
Dennis Tito | Queens | Soyuz TM 32/21 | 7 days, 22 hours, and 4 minutes | 1st private citizen in space. | NYC |
Gregory Olsen | Brooklyn | Soyuz TMA 7/6 | 9 days, 21 hours, and 15 minutes | 3rd private citizen in space. | NYC |
Jay Buckey | Manhattan | STS 90 | 15 days, 21 hours, and 50 minutes | Post-NASA has supported virtual reality research in support of future Mars missions. | NYC |
Jim Wetherbee | Queens | STS 32, 52, 63, 86, 102, 113 | 66 days, 10 hours, and 23 minutes | 1st and only American to command 5 Space Shuttle missions. | NYC |
Karol Bobko | Queens | STS 6, 51-D, 51-J | 16 days, 2 hours, and 3 minutes | 1st Air Force Academy graduate in space. | NYC |
Mario Runco Jr. | Bronx | STS 44, 54, 77 | 22 days, 23 hours, and 8 minutes | 1st person of Italian descent in space. | NYC |
Martin Fettman | Brooklyn | STS 58 | 14 days, 0 hours, and 12 minutes | Primary training was in veterinary pathology. | NYC |
Robert Parker | Manhattan | STS 9, 35 | 19 days, 6 hours, and 52 minutes | Served on the support crews for the Apollo 15 & 17 Moon landings. | NYC |
Ronald Grabe | Manhattan | STS 51-J, 30, 42, 57 | 26 days, 3 hours, and 38 minutes | Post-NASA has served as Executive VP and GM of the Orbital Sciences Corp. | NYC |
Doug Hurley | Endicott | STS 127, 135, Spx DM 2 | 92 days, 10 hours, and 38 minutes | Commander of the SpaceX Demo 2 mission, the 1st crewed flight of a private spacecraft. | Southern Tier |
Douglas Wheelock | Windsor | STS 120, Soyuz TMA-19 | 178 days, 9 hours, and 34 minutes | Spent more than 43 hours on 6 separate EVA's. | Southern Tier |
Eileen Collins | Elmira | STS 63, 84, 93, 114 | 38 days, 8 hours, and 20 minutes | 1st female Shuttle commander | Southern Tier |
Edward Gibson | Buffalo | Skylab 4 | 84 days, 1 hours, and 15 minutes | Spent more than 15 hours on 3 separate EVA's. | Western NY |
James Pawelczyk | Elma | STS 90 | 15 days, 21 hours, and 50 minutes | 1st full blooded Polish-American in space. | Western NY |
William Gregory | Lockport | STS 67 | 16 days, 15 hours, and 8 minutes | 1st Albanian-American in space. | Western NY |