A&A Alumni in Space

Many great pioneers of aerospace hold degrees from the Department of Aeronautics & Astronautics. Five of our alumni have traveled beyond the atmosphere:

Dominic (Tony) Antonelli, MSAA 2002: US Navy Cmd. Tony Antonelli was the pilot of Space Shuttle Atlantis on mission STS-132, which launched May 14, 2010, to deliver the Russian-built Mini Research Module to the International Space Station. Atlantis returned May 26. Cmd. Antonelli also served as the pilot on STS-119, which flew to the International Space Station in March 2009 to deliver solar arrays for the station's electricity-generating solar panels.
James P. Dutton, MSAA 1994: US Air Force Lt. Col. James Dutton was the pilot for Space Shuttle Discovery mission STS-131, which launched April 5, 2010, and returned April 20. The mission delivered research and science experiment equipment and supplies to the International Space Station.
Gregory C. Johnson, BSAA 1977: Col. Greg Johnson was pilot of the Space Shuttle mission STS-125 in May 2009, the final mission to the Hubble Space Telescope which will extend the observatory’s capabilities through 2014. Johnson was pilot of STS-123 Endeavour (March 2008) which completed both launch and landing at night; he was also a primary robotic arm operator on that mission.
John Fabian, PhD 1974: Col. Fabian first flew as a mission specialist on STS-7, which launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on June 18, 1983. This was the second flight for the Orbiter Challenger and the first mission with a 5-person crew. His second mission was on STS 51-G which launched on June 17, 1985, and landed at Edwards Air Force Base, California, on June 24 , after completing approximately 170 hours of space flight.
Scott Crossfield, BSAE 1949, MSAE 1950: As a research pilot for the NACA, Scott Crossfield made aeronautical history on November 20, 1953, when he reached the aviation milestone of Mach 2 (twice the speed of sound) or more than 1,320 miles per hour in the D-558-II Skyrocket.