A NASA astronaut who grew up in DeBary has gotten his latest assignment: Months aboard the International Space Station.
Luke Delaney will pilot NASA’s SpaceX Crew-13 mission that is scheduled to launch in mid-September.
The retired U.S. Marine Corps major will join spacecraft commander Jessica Watkins of NASA, Joshua Kutryk of the Canadian Space Agency, and Sergey Teteryatnikov of Roscosmos of the Russian Federation in crewing the space station for a “long-duration” mission, typically six months.
As a boy, Delaney viewed Space Shuttle launches
This will be Delaney’s first spaceflight. He was selected as a NASA astronaut in 2021 after serving in the Marine Corps as an aviator.
Delaney said his interest in spaceflight grew out of his childhood in DeBary, where he could visit Kennedy Space Center and watch launches from his home.
“I even went to a couple shuttle launches, even a night one, which was fantastic. You could feel the rumble, the energy,” he told The News-Journal in 2021. “It was such a great feeling.”
DeLand High teacher drew his interest to STEM
Delaney grew up in DeBary and attended DeLand High School before graduating from Deltona High School in 1997.
In 2021, Delaney credited a DeLand High teacher, Johnnie Ebbert, with drawing his interest to pre-calculus and trigonometry classes.
“She just had a great spin, a great perspective on math and its applications to life,” Delaney told The News-Journal. “From that perspective, it really caught on for me and from then on I was into the math, science, and technology scene.”
Ebbert retired in 2010 after 33 years as a Volusia County classroom teacher.
She cried tears of joy and pride upon learning of Delaney’s selection as an astronaut.
“It’s so emotional to me — that he remembered me and that I did make such an impact on his life,” she said. “You don’t ever know. You don’t always get that feedback from the kids.”
Delaney’s military service included Afghanistan
Delaney enlisted in the Marines in 1998.
After training, including Naval Aircrew Candidate School, he was deployed to Afghanistan in December 2001, serving in Operation Enduring Freedom.
While serving, Delaney received a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of North Florida in 2006, and a master’s in aerospace engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School in 2016.
In 2008, Delaney earned his Naval aviator wings and was ordered to Okinawa, Japan, where he participated in multiple international training and coalition exercises in the Pacific region.
He deployed to Afghanistan for a second time in 2010, and later became a flight test pilot who oversaw substantial aircraft moderations and managed developmental projects. He also served as a test-pilot instructor
In all, Delaney served 22 years in the Marines, retiring as a major in 2020. He executed more than 400 combat sorties, which are attacks or operational missions, according to his NASA bio.
Delaney started an intense, two-year astronaut training in January 2022 at Johnson Space Center in Houston, leading to his selection for the ISS assignment next fall.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: NASA astronaut bound for space station grew up in DeBary
Reporting by Mark Harper, Daytona Beach News-Journal / The Daytona Beach News-Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
