Thursday, November 9, 2023, 8 – 9 p.m. EST

When Col. Frederick D. Gregory was selected as an astronaut 45 years ago, he was among the first Black astronaut candidates at NASA. Prior to his selection, Gregory had extensive aerospace experience, serving as a helicopter rescue pilot in the U.S. Air Force (including 550 combat rescue missions in Vietnam) and attending U.S. Naval Test Pilot School. He was serving as a research test pilot at NASA’s Langley Research Center when he joined the astronaut program in 1978. Gregory is a veteran of three Space Shuttle missions, logging over 455 hours in space. He served as pilot of his first shuttle mission (STS-51B in 1985) and as spacecraft commander on his second and third missions (STS-33 in 1989 and STS-44 in 1991). He went on to serve in leadership roles at NASA, retiring in 2005 after three years as deputy administrator. At this exclusive event, hear directly from Gregory about his inspiring career.

This program is for members of the National Air and Space Society. (Not a member? Join today.) Join us in person at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia or watch online. Registration is required for both the in-person event and the virtual live stream of the program. 

Members at the Apollo 11 Eagle level and above are invited to a dessert reception with Gregory at 7 pm. 

Accessibility: The program will be streamed with live closed captioning. Assistive Listening Devices (ALDs) are available at the Airbus IMAX Theater upon request. If you require another access service to fully participate or have any questions about accessibility, please contact NASMPublicLectures@si.edu. To ensure the best experience, please try to contact us at your soonest convenience.