Dr. José M. Hernández
After applying numerous times over a period of 12 years, Dr. Hernández was finally selected by NASA for its astronaut training program in 2004, which he completed in 2006. In June 2008 he was one of seven astronauts selected to train for a mission to the International Space Station. As a Mission Specialist 2 and the crew's flight engineer, Dr. Hernández was the primary robotics operator and navigation computer expert. On August 28, 2009, his lifelong dream was finally fulfilled when he boarded the space shuttle Discovery and blasted off into outer space on a journey that would end on September 11, 2009; but it was also an experience that will last a lifetime. Dr. Hernández started his journey into outer space while working in the fields in California as a migrant farm worker. He was 10 years old when he first saw astronauts land on the moon and the dream began. When Dr. Hernández was a senior in high school, Dr. Franklin Chang Diaz became the first Latino astronaut in 1980, and the breaking of that barrier paved the road that he would travel for the next 28 years until he climbed into the cockpit of Discovery. As a proud member of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers and LULAC, his mission now is to help other young Latinos develop their potential, reach their goals, and fulfill their dreams.
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