Famous 21st Century Aviators

Scott Kelly is an American engineer, retired naval aviator, and astronaut. He is credited with commanding the International Space Station on three Expeditions. Scott Kelly is the recipient of several awards and honors, such as the NASA Distinguished Service Medal and National Defense Service Medal.

Fred Haise is an American retired engineer, NASA astronaut, and test pilot. He also served as a fighter pilot for the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Marine Corps. He was part of Apollo 13 and is one of 24 astronauts to have flown to the Moon. Fred Haise is the recipient of prestigious awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

The first person to walk on the Moon, Neil Armstrong was an astronaut and aeronautical engineer. Prior to his trip to the Moon, he became NASA's first civilian astronaut to fly in space. After resigning from NASA, he taught in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Cincinnati. He was a Presidential Medal of Freedom awardee.

Ken Mattingly is a retired aviator, test pilot, aeronautical engineer, astronaut, and rear admiral in the US Navy. He was part of Apollo-16 and is one of 24 astronauts to have flown to the Moon. Mattingly is the recipient of numerous awards, including the NASA Distinguished Service Medal. In 1983, he was inducted into the International Space Hall of Fame.

Frank Borman is an American former US Air Force colonel, test pilot, aeronautical engineer, businessman, and NASA astronaut. The commander of Apollo 8, Borman was the first of 24 astronauts to have flown to the Moon. In 1982, Frank Borman was made an inductee of the International Space Hall of Fame.

Edgar Mitchell was an American aviator, United States Navy officer, test pilot, NASA astronaut, ufologist, and aeronautical engineer. In 1971, Mitchell became only the sixth person ever to walk on the Moon. Over the course of his illustrious career, Edgar Mitchell was honored with several prestigious awards, such as the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the NASA Distinguished Service Medal.   

Former NASA astronaut Charles Duke has also been a USAF officer and test pilot. At 36, he became the youngest astronaut to walk on the surface of the Moon. Throughout his illustrious career, he went on 5 Apollo missions. He is also an international public speaker.

Retired US Air Force officer and NASA astronaut Guion Bluford scripted history as the 2nd African-origin person and the 1st African-American to go into space. A trained fighter pilot, he also flew over 100 combat missions in the Vietnam War. The STS-8 Orbiter Challenger crew member later worked in IT and engineering services.

US Navy rear admiral and aviator George Stephen Morrison commanded the US forces during the 1964 Gulf of Tonkin Incident, which eventually began the Vietnam War. He had also been part of the Battle of Pearl Harbor in WWII. He is also remembered as the father of The Doors lead vocalist Jim Morrison.

US Air Force veteran MJ Hegar has also been a Democratic candidate for the 2020 US Senate election for Texas. Known for her bestselling autobiography Shoot Like a Girl, she was awarded the Purple Heart and the Distinguished Flying Cross with Valor for her fearless military service in Afghanistan, where she was shot at.

Burt Rutan is an American former entrepreneur and aerospace engineer. He is best known for his ability to make strong, light, energy-efficient, and unusual-looking air and space craft. Burt Rutan is credited with designing historically significant aircrafts like the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer, which set the world record for the longest and fastest nonstop circumnavigation flight in history.   

Known as the Berlin Candy Bomber, Gail Halvorsen was a US Air Force officer and command pilot. He developed the idea of dropping candies, chocolate, and other treats for West German children, using parachutes, during the Berlin Airlift, in retaliation to the Soviet’s Berlin Blockade. He later received the Congressional Gold Medal.

American aviation pioneer Geraldyn M. Cobb was part of the pathbreaking Mercury 13 program and scripted history as the first female candidate to pass astronaut testing. She had a pilot’s license by 18 and later found new air routes to the Andes and the Amazon rain forests and immersed herself in humanitarian work.

US physician and astronaut Story Musgrave initially worked for the US Marine Corps. Before joining NASA, he gained a host of degrees, in subjects such as literature, math, and chemistry, and an MD from Columbia University. He became the 2nd astronaut to make 6 space flights and later worked for Imagineering and Applied Minds.

Sara Netanyahu is an Israeli educational and career psychologist. She is married to former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. She is the daughter of a Polish-born Israeli Jewish educator. She has worked as a psychotechnical evaluator and an educational psychologist. She has received much negative media attention for the mistreatment of her staff. 

The third civilian astronaut to participate in any NASA mission, Walter Cunningham was part of the 1968 Apollo 7 mission. Initially a US Marine Corps fighter pilot, he later studied physics. Post-NASA, he worked for various enterprises and also penned the memoir The All-American Boys.

British-origin Australian politician Sussan Ley was born in Nigeria and raised in the UAE and England, before moving to Australia in her teens. The Liberal Party deputy leader went on to represent Farrer in the Australian Parliament after managing ministries such as health, aged care, environment, and sport.

NASA astronaut and USAF fighter pilot Rusty Schweickart served as the Lunar Module Pilot for the Apollo 9 mission in 1969 and became the first astronaut to perform an EVA, to test the life support system. He later co-founded the Association of Space Explorers and the B612 Foundation.

US astronaut, naval officer, and aviator Robert Crippen was a pilot on the first Space Shuttle mission and completed 4 space flights in his career. He later served as the director of Space Shuttle and of the Kennedy Space Center. He also worked for Lockheed Martin and Thiokol.

Russian Air Force officer and a Roscosmos cosmonaut Gennady Ivanovich Padalka is the current record holder for the most time spent in space. He achieved such feat spending 878 days in space over five missions (including one Mir Mission and four International Space Station Missions) and surpassing the earlier record of cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev on June 28, 2015.

US naval officer Everett Alvarez Jr. was the first US pilot to be shot down during the Vietnam War. Imprisoned in North Vietnam, he spent over 8 years as a POW. He later received the Prisoner of War Medal and also served as the Deputy Administrator of the Veterans Administration.

At 32, Joe Engle became the US’s youngest pilot to qualify as an astronaut after flying his X-15 to 280,600 feet. He also commanded 2 Space Shuttle missions, including the 1981 STS-2. He was later inducted to the International Air & Space Hall of Fame.

US naval officer, aviator, and astronaut Robert L. Gibson made 5 Space Shuttle mission flights and commanded 4 of them. He has also served as the Chief of the Astronaut Office at NASA and was named to the US Astronaut Hall of Fame. Post-retirement, he began participating in air races.

Former Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko currently ranks second for the most time spent in space. He worked on missions of both Mir and International Space Station (ISS). While serving as Commander of Expedition 7 of the ISS, Malenchenko married Ekaterina Dmitrieva, who was in Texas at that time, and with this Malenchenko became the first person who married in space.  

Niloofar Rahmani is the first woman in Afghanistan’s history who became fixed-wing Air Force aviator. She is Afghan Air Force’s first female pilot since 2001 fall of Taliban. Despite receiving death threats, Rahmani completed her training which included training on C-130s with the US Air Force. She received International Women of Courage Award and was granted asylum in the US.