The New Guys
as featured in the book

  • Person working with electronic equipment in a server room or data center.

    Guion “Guy” Bluford, Jr.

    An aerospace engineer and US Air Force fighter pilot, he was the first African American to space, flying four space shuttle missions.

  • Young female astronaut in a white space suit with helmet, preparing for a mission, with a control room and team members in the background.

    Anna Lee Fisher

    A physician, she was the first mother and the fourth American woman to space. She married Group 9 Astronaut Bill Fisher and served as chief of the Astronaut Office’s space station branch.

  • Male astronaut in the cockpit of a spacecraft, smiling and holding a sheet of paper, with various controls and screens around him.

    Robert “Hoot” Gibson

    A US Navy fighter pilot, he flew on five space shuttle missions, married fellow New Guy Rhea Seddon in 1981, and served as chief of the Astronaut Office and the deputy director of flight crew operations.

  • Astronaut smiling inside spacecraft, wearing a blue cap with NASA logo, and a navy and white striped uniform.

    Frederick “Fred” Gregory

    A US Air Force fighter and helicopter pilot, he was the first African American to pilot, and later command, the space shuttle. He became the first African American deputy administrator in the agency’s history.

  • An astronaut in a NASA uniform is floating inside a spacecraft with another crew member working at a station.

    Steven “Steve” Hawley

    A PhD in astronomy and astrophysics, he flew five space shuttle missions, was married to fellow New Guy Sally Ride, and served as deputy chief of the Astronaut Office.

  • Four astronauts in space suits inside a spacecraft preparing for a spacewalk, with equipment and wires around them.

    Shannon Lucid

    A PhD in biochemistry, she was the sixth American woman to space, flew five space shuttle missions, and held the record for most flight hours in orbit by any woman in the world until June 2007.

  • A man in a blue NASA space shuttle uniform smiling in front of a NASA flag and a model of a space shuttle.

    Ronald “Ron” McNair

    A PhD in physics, he was the second African American to space and was tragically killed in the Challenger disaster.

  • NASA astronaut in blue jumpsuit with patches, holding a space helmet, next to a model space shuttle and American flag in background.

    Ellison “El” Onizuka

    A US Air Force flight test engineer and test pilot, he was the first Asian American to space and was tragically killed in the Challenger disaster.

  • Woman with large curly hair wearing a NASA shirt and posing inside a spacecraft, surrounded by space agency stickers and boxes, with a sign that reads 'Hi Dad'

    Judith “Judy” Resnik

    A PhD in electrical engineering, she was the second American woman and the first Jewish astronaut to space and was tragically killed in the Challenger disaster.

  • A smiling woman in a NASA astronaut uniform inside an aircraft cockpit, talking on a headset.

    Sally Ride

    A PhD in physics, she was the first American woman to space, married fellow New Guy Steve Hawley, and served on the Rogers Commission, investigating the Challenger accident.

  • Two astronauts inside a spacecraft, one sitting with VR goggles and headphones, the other operating equipment with a headset and microphone.

    Margaret “Rhea” Seddon

    A surgeon, she was the fifth American woman to space, flew on three space shuttle missions, and married fellow New Guy Hoot Gibson.

  • An astronaut in a space suit sitting docked inside a spacecraft, smiling and holding hands with a woman in a blue NASA jumpsuit.

    Kathryn “Kathy” Sullivan

    A PhD in geology, she was the third American woman to space and the first American woman to perform a spacewalk.

Fellow Astronauts

  • An airline pilot in a flight suit, wearing a helmet with an American flag design, smiling and looking out from the cockpit of an aircraft.

    James “Jim” Bagian

    A physician and Air Force flight surgeon, he became a NASA astronaut in 1980, and played a key role in Challenger’s recovery.

  • Astronaut in space suit inside spacecraft, sitting cross-legged and smiling at the camera.

    Robert “Crip” Crippen

    A US Navy pilot who became a NASA astronaut in 1969, he was the first pilot of the space shuttle, led the recovery effort following the Challenger disaster, and was the director of the space shuttle program at NASA Headquarters.

  • A man in a NASA jumpsuit holding a model space shuttle, with an American flag in the background.

    William “Bill” Fisher

    A physician and member of the 1980 astronaut class, he was married to New Guy Anna Lee Fisher.

  • A man wearing glasses and a dark shirt smiling while looking at a book, surrounded by various electronic equipment and controls in what appears to be an airplane cockpit or control room.

    John Young

    A US Navy pilot and Apollo astronaut, he flew in space six times and was the first commander of the space shuttle and chief of the Astronaut Office from 1974 to 1987.

NASA Brass

  • Four astronauts in blue NASA jumpsuits talking with a man in a suit near an airplane on a tarmac.

    George Abbey

    A US Air Force captain assigned to NASA in 1964 during the Apollo program, he was rejected from the astronaut corps in 1965 but went on to serve as director of flight operations at Johnson Space Center, selecting the first class of space shuttle astronauts—the New Guys.

  • A man in a gray suit with a striped tie, seated at a desk with a model space shuttle and a curtain in the background.

    James Beggs

    A former business executive who served as the sixth administrator of NASA from 1981 to 1986.

  • A professional portrait of a woman in a burgundy blazer with short dark hair, smiling at the camera against a dark background.

    Carolyn Huntoon

    A PhD in physiology who joined NASA in 1970, she was the head of the Endocrine and Biochemistry Laboratories at Johnson Space Center, the only woman on the Group 8 astronaut selection board in 1978, and the first woman director of Johnson Space Center.

  • A man in a suit, sitting at a control console, pointing and speaking into a headset microphone in a command center or control room with multiple screens.

    Christopher Kraft

    The legendary NASA flight director who helped create Houston’s Mission Control, he served as director of Johnson Space Center from 1972 to 1982.