KSC-04pd0973

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- At the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, the late Francis R. "Dick" Scobee, commander of the ill-fated 1986 Challenger mission, is represented by his widow, June Scobee (right), at his induction into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame. Another inductee, Dr. Norman E. Thagard (left), offers his encouragement. Also chosen for this honor in 2004 are Kathryn D. Sullivan, the first American woman to walk in space; Richard O. Covey, commander of the Hubble Space Telescope repair mission; Frederick D. Gregory, the first African-American to command a space mission; and Thagard, the first American to occupy Russia's Mir space station. The U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame opened in 1990 to provide a place where space travelers could be remembered for their participation and accomplishments in the U.S. space program. To be eligible for induction, an individual must have been a U.S. citizen, a NASA astronaut, and out of the active astronaut corps at least five years. The five inductees join 52 previously honored astronauts from the ranks of the Gemini, Apollo, Skylab, Apollo-Soyuz, and Space Shuttle programs.