2024 Circle of Honor - Honoring John Herrington

2024 Circle of Honor

Honoring John Herrington

    Born in Wetumka, Oklahoma, Herrington was the first citizen of a federally recognized tribe to travel to space. Selected by NASA in 1996, he was assigned to the Flight Support Branch of the Astronaut Office where he served as a member of the Astronaut Support Personnel team responsible for Shuttle launch preparations and post-landing operations.

   In 2002, he spent nearly two weeks in space as a member of STS-113 Endeavour, the sixteenth Shuttle mission to visit the International Space Station. During this mission, Herrington performed three EVA’s (extravehicular activity) totaling 19 hours and 55 minutes outside the spacecraft in orbit.

   Herrington’s space walks did not come without a challenge. He was suspended after his freshman year of college because of a low GPA. More interested in rock climbing, he used those skills and joined a survey crew in Colorado. Scaling peaks in the Rocky Mountains ignited a new passion for learning and on the advice of the lead project engineer, he returned to college.

   After receiving a degree in applied mathematics from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, a retired Navy captain encouraged him to apply to the Navy, where he enjoyed a 22-year career as a Naval Aviator, test pilot and astronaut. In 1995, he earned a Master of Science degree in aeronautical engineering from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School.

   Following his successful career, Herrington set out on a coast-to-coast bike ride to motivate young adults to pursue math and science professions. He used the 4,000-mile journey to demonstrate real world uses for science, technology, engineering and mathematics. This experience led him to return to school and earn his doctorate in Education.