After a historic career, astronaut Doug Hurley retired from NASA Friday,
capping a 21-year career returning human spaceflight from Florida last year
when he launched with SpaceX to the International Space Station.
A former U.S. Marine Colonel, Hurley has spent 93 days in space during his
time with NASA, most recently when he and NASA astronaut Bob Behnken
launched from the Kennedy Space Center on SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft. The
May 30, 2020 launch marked the first human spaceflight from American soil in
nearly a decade and SpaceX became the first commercial company to fly humans
to the ISS.
Hurley was part of another historic milestone in human spaceflight, the
final space shuttle mission in 2011. Hurley was the pilot for two shuttle
missions, STS-127 with shuttle Endeavour and the 135th and final space
shuttle mission on Atlantis, STS-135.
In a statement, Hurley detailed his storied career for NASA, including
experiencing the loss of his friends aboard space shuttle Columbia and
meeting his wife at the agency.
“For 21 years, I’ve had the incredible honor of participating in the
American space program and working alongside the extremely dedicated people
of NASA. To have had a place in the assembly of the International Space
Station, and the Space Shuttle Program including flying on its final
mission, STS-135, has been a tremendous privilege,” Hurley said. “To then
have had the opportunity to be at the forefront of the Commercial Crew
Program, specifically working with SpaceX, on to commanding the first flight
of Crew Dragon, and finally, as a perfect end to my flying career, serving
onboard the space station as a resident crew member. On a personal level,
there were many significant life moments, too, at NASA that have had their
forever impact on me. The loss of my colleagues on space shuttle Columbia.
And meeting my wife here and starting our family. It is truly humbling when
reflecting back on it all.”
NASA announced Hurley’s retirement Friday, which marked his last day with
the astronaut office.
“Doug Hurley is a national hero,” NASA astronaut office chief Reid Weisman
said in a statement. “He is a pioneer in human spaceflight who inspires the
next generation. Doug made significant impacts everywhere he served at NASA.
Our very best wishes for him, his family, and his future pursuits. We thank
Doug for his service.”
Hurley is married to retired astronaut Karen Nyberg. The couple met when they
were part of the 2000 astronaut class at NASA. They have a son together who
was there to see when his father launched from Kennedy Space Center last
summer.
Hurley and Behnken became known as the “space dads” or “SpaceX dads” because
they both have young sons around the same age. The boys even selected the
zero-gravity indicator in the form of a sparkly dinosaur plush toy named
Tremor.
“Doug brought experience and leadership vital to our continued success in
human spaceflight. He shared his critical learning from his missions during
many years in human spaceflight to a new team,” Kathy Lueders, the head of
NASA human spaceflight, said. “Many of us know and love him as one of the
dads on NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 test flight – it’s personal to fly a member of
our NASA family, and important for the team working these missions always to
keep in mind he and his family is in our hands.”