Victor J. Glover
Victor Jerome Glover (born April 30, 1976) is a NASA astronaut of the class of 2013[1][2] and Pilot on the first operational flight of the SpaceX Crew Dragon to the International Space Station. Glover is a commander in the U.S. Navy where he pilots an F/A-18, and is a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School.[3] He is a crew member of Expedition 64, serving as a station systems flight engineer.
Victor J. Glover | |
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Born | Pomona, California, U.S. | April 30, 1976
Status | Active |
Nationality | American |
Alma mater | California Polytechnic State University Air University Naval Postgraduate School |
Occupation | Flight engineer |
Space career | |
NASA Astronaut | |
Rank | Commander, USN |
Time in space | Currently in space |
Selection | 2013 NASA Group |
Total EVAs | 2 |
Total EVA time | 12h 16m |
Missions | SpaceX Crew-1 (Expedition 64/65) |
Mission insignia | ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Education
Glover, who grew up in Pomona, California,[4] graduated from Ontario High School (California) in 1994, where he was a quarterback and running back for the Jaguars.[5] He was awarded Athlete of the Year 1994.[6] He attended California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, California on a wrestling scholarship[7] and received his Bachelor of Science degree in General Engineering in 1999. Glover is a member (1996) of Phi Beta Sigma fraternity.[6]
Glover has three Master of Science degrees:
- Master of Science in Flight test engineering, Air University (United States Air Force) (USAF TPS), Edwards Air Force Base, California, 2007.
- Master of Science in Systems Engineering (PD‐21), Naval Postgraduate School, 2009.
- Master of Military Operational Art and Science, Air University (United States Air Force), Montgomery, Alabama, 2010.[6]
Glover also completed a Space Systems Certificate from the Naval Postgraduate School whilst on deployment, and a Certificate in Legislative Studies at Georgetown University whilst serving as a Legislative Fellow.
Military career
Glover joined the US Navy, completing advanced flight training in 2001, later training for the F/A-18C with the Marine Fleet Replacement Squadron. In 2003 he was assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron 34 stationed in Virginia, and embarked on the final deployment of USS John F. Kennedy in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
After attending the Air Force Test Pilot School, in 2007 he was designated a test pilot, serving with the VX-31 in California.
In 2011, he served as a department head in Strike-Fighter Squadron 195 (VFA-195) stationed at Naval Air Facility Atsugi, Japan and embarked on the USS George Washington.[3]
Glover's call-sign is "Ike”, a name given to him by one of his first commanding officers, standing for "I Know Everything".[7] He has accumulated 3,000 flight hours in more than 40 aircraft, over 400 carrier arrested landings and 24 combat missions for the United States Navy.[6]
In 2012 he served as a legislative fellow working on the personal staff of John McCain.[8] It was during this time that he was selected for the 2013 NASA Astronaut group.
NASA career
![](../I/NASA_astronauts_work_aboard_the_SpaceX_Crew_Dragon_(iss064e004754).jpg.webp)
Glover was introduced as one of the Astronaut Group 21 team in June 2013, completing training in 2015.
Expedition 64/65
In August 2018 Glover was introduced as one of the Commercial Crew astronauts, assigned to fly on the first operational flight, and the second crewed flight overall, of SpaceX's Crew Dragon.[9] As part of that mission, he will be a crew member on ISS Expeditions 64 and 65. Glover is the first African American ISS Expedition crewmember to live on the ISS, not only visit the ISS for a short stay like on the Space Shuttle as an ISS assembly astronaut. According to The New York Times:[4]
Mr. Glover's achievement is notable for NASA, which has worked to spotlight the "hidden figures" in its history, but has so far sent only 14 Black Americans to space out of a total of more than 300 NASA astronauts. He will not be the first Black astronaut aboard the station. But those who preceded him from NASA were members of space shuttle crews during the station’s construction and only made brief stays on the outpost.
SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule Resilience launched on November 15, 2020, carrying Glover together with two other NASA astronauts (Michael S. Hopkins and Shannon Walker) as well as Soichi Noguchi of Japan. They arrived at the space station on November 17.[10]
Gallery
- LCDR Glover, 2013
- Glover in Node 1 on board the International Space Station
- Glover conducting EVA during ISS Expedition 64
- Victor reading blueprint information on an iPad inside the Quest Airlock, in prep for his spacewalk
- Glover and his crewmates in the US lab
- A smiling Glover poses next to a hatch in Node 1
- Soichi, Victor and Mike in the Japanese Experiment Module
- In the cupola
- Christmas celebration
Bibliography
- Glover, Victor J. (2012). Talking Back: Weapons, Warfare, and Feedback. BiblioScholar Dissertations. ISBN 978-1286863367.
See also
References
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration. "2013 Astronaut Class". NASA. Retrieved June 19, 2013.
- "NASA's Newest Astronauts Complete Training". NASA. July 9, 2015.
- Glover, Victor J. (2011). "Talking Back-Weapons, Warfare, and Feedback". Air Force Journal of Logistics. 35 (1–2): 134–142. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
- Waller, Allyson (November 15, 2020). "Victor Glover will be the first Black crew member on the space station". The New York Times. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
Originally from Pomona, Calif., Mr. Glover graduated with a bachelor’s degree in general engineering from California Polytechnic State University in 1999. Over the course of 2007 to 2010, he earned three master’s degrees: in flight test engineering, systems engineering and military operational art and science.
- "Astronaut candidate from Pomona hopes to someday man space station". dailybulletin.com. Inland Valley Daily Bulletin. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
- "Victor J. Glover, Jr. (Commander, U.S. Navy) NASA Astronaut". nasa.gov. NASA. Retrieved December 24, 2019.
- Campbell, Carolyn (July 18, 2019). "VISIT HOUSTON CONVERSATION WITH ASTRONAUTS GLOVER & HOPKINS". Visit Houston. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
- Hutcheson, Susannah (May 18, 2017). "How I became an astronaut: Victor Glover". USA Today. Retrieved July 18, 2019.
- "NASA Assigns Crews to First Test Flights, Missions on Commercial Spacecraft". NASA. August 3, 2018. Retrieved August 4, 2018.
- Wall, Mike (November 17, 2020). "Victor Glover becomes 1st Black astronaut to arrive at space station for long-term stay". Space.Com. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
Glover and three crewmates — fellow NASA astronauts Mike Hopkins and Shannon Walker and Japan's Soichi Noguchi — left Earth on Sunday evening (Nov. 15) aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule "Resilience." The launch kicked off Crew-1, SpaceX's first-ever contracted, fully operational astronaut mission to the space station for NASA.
- Ashton, Jennifer. "ABC News' Dr. Ashton interviews NASA astronauts Kate Rubins and Victor Glover on the ISS". youtube.com. ABC News. Event occurs at 25:44. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
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