Victor J. Glover facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Victor Glover
|
|
|---|---|
Glover in 2023
|
|
| Born |
Victor Jerome Glover
April 30, 1976 Pomona, California, U.S.
|
| Space career | |
| NASA astronaut | |
| Rank | Captain, US Navy |
|
Time in space
|
167 days, 6 hours, 29 minutes |
| Selection | NASA Group 21 (2013) |
|
Total EVAs
|
4 |
|
Total EVA time
|
26 hours, 7 minutes |
| Missions | SpaceX Crew-1 (Expedition 64/65) |
|
Mission insignia
|
   |
Victor Jerome Glover (born April 30, 1976) is a brave NASA astronaut. He was chosen in 2013 to join the space program. Victor Glover was the pilot for the very first regular flight of the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft. This mission took him to the International Space Station (ISS).
Captain Glover is also a skilled pilot in the U.S. Navy. He flies the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet jet. He was a crew member for Expedition 64 on the ISS. There, he helped manage the station's systems.
Victor Glover has been chosen for the Artemis II mission. This exciting flight will circle the Moon in 2026. If this mission is successful, he will be the first person of color to travel beyond Earth's orbit.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Victor Glover grew up in Pomona, California. He finished high school in 1994 at Ontario High School. There, he was a star athlete, playing quarterback and running back for the Jaguars football team. He even won the Athlete of the Year Award in 1994.
Victor's dad, Victor Glover Sr., helped him love science and engineering. His grandfather served in the Air Force during the Korean War. He faced many challenges that made it hard for him to become a pilot.
College Years and Sports
Victor went to California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo. In 1999, he earned a degree in general engineering. While at Cal Poly, he was part of the Phi Beta Sigma fraternity. He also wrestled for the Mustangs team. He played football too, as a defensive back for the 1996 team.
Advanced Degrees and Family
Victor Glover earned three master's degrees between 2007 and 2010. He studied Flight Test Engineering at Air University (United States Air Force). He also got a degree in Systems Engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School. His third master's was in Military Operational Art and Science from Air University.
He also has special certificates in space systems and legislative studies. Victor is married to Dionna Odom Glover. They have four daughters.
Military Career
Victor Glover joined the United States Navy in 1999. He became a naval aviator, or pilot, in 2001. He learned to fly the F/A-18C Hornet jet. In 2003, he joined a squadron called VFA-34.
With VFA-34, he flew missions from the USS John F. Kennedy. These missions supported Operation Iraqi Freedom. In 2006, he was chosen for the United States Air Force Test Pilot School. He became a test pilot in 2007.
Later, he was stationed in Japan with VFA-195. They flew from the USS George Washington. They supported important operations in the Pacific Ocean.
Flight Experience and Call Sign
During his Navy career, Victor Glover has flown over 3,000 hours. He has flown more than 40 different types of aircraft. He has also landed on aircraft carriers over 400 times. He completed 24 combat missions.
His call sign is "Ike." This nickname was given to him by one of his first commanders. It stands for "I know everything."
NASA Career
.jpg)
Victor Glover became a NASA astronaut in June 2013. He finished his training in 2015.
Missions to the International Space Station
In August 2018, Glover was chosen for a special mission. He would be the pilot for the first regular flight of SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft. This mission was called SpaceX Crew-1.
As part of this mission, he lived on the International Space Station (ISS) for over six months. He was a crew member for Expedition 64 and Expedition 65. Victor Glover made history as the first African American ISS Expedition crew member to live on the space station. Other Black astronauts had visited the ISS for short times on Space Shuttle missions.
The SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule, named Resilience, launched on November 15, 2020. Victor Glover flew with two other NASA astronauts, Michael S. Hopkins and Shannon Walker. Soichi Noguchi from Japan was also on board. They arrived at the space station on November 17.
While on the ISS, Victor Glover was chosen for NASA's Artemis program. This program aims to send humans back to the Moon.
Spacewalks and Important Calls
Victor Glover completed four spacewalks during his time on the ISS. His first spacewalk was on January 27, 2021. It lasted over six hours. He worked with Michael Hopkins to upgrade the Columbus module. On his second spacewalk, also with Hopkins, he replaced a broken camera outside the station. For his third spacewalk, he and Kate Rubins started upgrading the station's power supply. This prepared the station for new solar arrays.
On February 24, 2021, Vice President Kamala Harris made a video call to Victor Glover. She spoke to him while he was on the space station. They talked about human spaceflight and seeing Earth from space. They also discussed his historic stay on the ISS.
Future Lunar Mission: Artemis II
On April 3, 2023, Victor Glover was announced as the pilot for the Artemis II mission. This mission is planned to fly around the Moon no earlier than April 2026. He will fly with NASA astronauts Gregory R. Wiseman and Christina Koch. Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen will also be on the mission.
Images for kids
-
LCDR Glover, 2013
-
Glover in Node 1 on board the International Space Station
-
Glover conducting his first EVA during ISS Expedition 64
-
Glover mounting station battery modules in the steelwork of the S6 truss
-
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.
-
Victor and Mike in Node 2
-
Selfie in the Japanese Experiment Module
-
In the Cupola
-
Glover and the entire crew of Expedition 64 in Node 3 above the Cupola
-
Christmas celebration
-
Working on a desk containing a hydroponics plant experiment in Node 2
-
US lab station machinery systems checking
.jpg)
See also
In Spanish: Victor J. Glover para niños
- List of Artemis astronauts
- List of African-American astronauts
