NASA has introduced the 10 members of the 2021 astronaut class and they include retired U.S. Marine aviator Luke Delaney who grew up in Debary in Volusia County. The 42 year old Delaney and the 9 other new astronauts were chosen out of a field of more than 12,000 applicants.
"Today we welcome 10 new explorers, 10 members of the Artemis generation," NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said. "Alone, each candidate has 'the right stuff,' but together they represent the creed of our country: E pluribus unum- out of many, one."
Delaney earned a mechanical engineering degree from the University of North Florida and a master's degree in aerospace engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School. Delaney, who retired as a major, conducted combat missions in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
Delaney and the other new astronauts will report to the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, next month to begin two years of training to get them ready for possibly deep space missions to the Moon on the space agency's Orion spacecraft.
Since the original Mercury Seven astronauts in 1959 NASA has now selected 360 astronauts including Delaney and the class of 2021.
Image courtesy Getty