Astronaut

2026 has been a busy year for NASA. Four astronauts flew to the moon for the first trip by human beings there since Apollo 17 in 1972 The flight of Artemis two also highlights Alabama's role in the US space program. The Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville designed, built, tested, and manages the big Space Launch System rocket that sends Artemis missions to Earth orbit. Huntsville has its claim to fame when it comes to NASA, but Opelika does too. One of its favorite sons is retired astronaut Jim Voss. He flew four times on the space shuttle and served on the second full-time crew aboard the International Space Station, a conversation that's out of this world, is next on APR Notebook.

Former NASA astronaut James Halsell was released from a north Alabama prison on Memorial Day. WAFF-TV reports the five time space shuttle crewmember will begin ten years of probation following a 2016 traffic accident in Tuscaloosa that killed two sisters.

Alabama Public Radio is observing forty years on the air in 2022. The APR news team is diving into our archives to bring you encore airings of the best of our coverage. So far this month, we’ve featured stories with a space theme. July was the month, back in 1969, when Apollo 11 landed on the moon. Not all of APR’s NASA related coverage has been upbeat. This archive story by Pat Duggins from last year involves a former astronaut and the death of two sisters in Tuscaloosa.

A five time Space Shuttle astronaut is now a convicted felon. James Halsell stood before a Tuscaloosa County judge and pleaded guilty to two counts of manslaughter in the 2016 traffic crash that killed two young girls. APR has been following the case from the beginning. It was a shock to observers of the space program and a long wait for justice for the victim’s family.

A former space shuttle commander has pleaded not guilty in a fatal wreck that killed two girls in Alabama.Court records show 60-year-old James Halsell Jr.…