Ellen Ochoa, First Latina In Space, To Enter Astronaut Hall Of Fame

Ellen Ochoa made history as the first-ever Latina in space in 1993, and now she’s en route to the Astronaut Hall of Fame this May.

The Chicana joined NASA as a research engineer in 1988 before shattering the glass ceiling, which she continues to do today. According to Latina, she is the first Latina and second woman to serve as the director of the Johnson Space Center.

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Congratulations! Veteran NASA astronaut Ellen Ochoa, Ph.D., the first Hispanic woman to go to space and 11th director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston, Texas, will be inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame. Ochoa joined NASA in 1988 as a research engineer at Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, California. She moved to JSC in 1990 when she was selected as an astronaut candidate. After completing astronaut training, she served on the nine-day STS-56 mission aboard the space shuttle Discovery in 1993, conducting atmospheric studies to better understand the effect of solar activity on the Earth’s climate and environment. She has flown in space four times, including STS-66, STS-96 and STS-110, logging nearly 1,000 hours in orbit. #nasa #iss #space #jsc #texas #houston #astronaut #congratulations

A post shared by NASA Johnson Space Center (@nasajohnson) on Feb 14, 2017 at 12:04pm PST

“I’m honored to be recognized among generations of astronauts who were at the forefront of exploring our universe for the benefit of humankind,” Ochoa said of her forthcoming induction. “I hope to continue to inspire our nation’s youth to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math so they, too, may reach for the stars.”

It’s a special honor to be recognized by fellow astronauts. Congrats to my STS-56 crew mate Mike Foale too! https://t.co/a5M89eV3ci

— Ellen Ochoa (@Astro_Ellen) February 14, 2017