NASA and SpaceX plan to launch their Crew-12 mission from Cape Canaveral on February 12th. The four members of the crew will serve on the International Space Station (ISS), where they will join the crew members of Expedition 74.
Onboard the International Space Station, astronauts will conduct experiments and document the effects of space exploration on humans. Among the crew members of Crew-12, the pilot is a familiar face to the South Windsor community, Jack Hathaway.
Hathaway was born and raised in South Windsor, and graduated from South Windsor High School in 2000. After high school, Hathaway attended the United States Naval Academy where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in physics and history in 2004.
Hathaway was commissioned into the Navy in 2004 after graduation where he served as a pilot. According to NASA, during his time in the Navy, he accounted for over 2500 flight hours in 30 different aircraft types, 500 carrier landings, and 39 combat missions.
In 2014, he obtained a master’s degree in flight dynamics from Cranfield University. In 2021, he was selected among 9 others for NASA’s Astronaut Training Program, which had over 12,000 applicants.
“My mind is a little bit blown, and I am super proud to say that I know an astronaut,” South Windsor High School Science Teacher Deb Field told The Prowl.
Deb Field has been teaching science at South Windsor High School for more than twenty five years. She taught Hathaway in her marine science class during his time at the high school.
“I think it is really, really cool that he comes from a small town like South Windsor, and from a relatively small school like South Windsor High School,” Field said.
On the mission, Hathaway will serve as the mission pilot. Fellow NASA astronaut Jessica Meir from Caribou, Maine, will serve as the mission commander.
Meir is a first generation immigrant, born to Swedish and Israeli parents. Meir graduated from Brown with a bachelor’s degree in biology in 1999. She also holds a master’s degree in space studies, and a doctorate in marine biology. In 2013, she was selected to be an astronaut by NASA. She has served 205 days in space.
Joining Meir and Hathaway will be the mission specialists, Sophie Adenot and Andrey Fedyaev.
Adenot is a French astronaut who graduated from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and represents the European Space Agency. She previously served on Expedition 74.
Fedyaev is an experienced Russian cosmonaut, who serves for Roscosmos. He previously served on SpaceX Crew-6, Expedition 69, and Expedition 74.
While the planned date for launch was originally February 11, bad weather has delayed the launch to no sooner than February 12. NASA can use a list of backup dates if necessary.
Hathaway will join the many other alumni who went on to receive national recognition, who originated from South Windsor, and attended South Windsor High School.
