South Windsor Native Selected For NASA Astronaut Training

SOUTH WINDSOR, CT — From a field of more than 12,000 applicants, a South Windsor native is one of 10 new astronaut candidates selected by NASA to comprise the first new class in four years.

The 2021 astronaut class was announced Monday at an event at Ellington Field near NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. Among the selected candidates is U.S. Navy commander Jack Hathaway, a 2000 graduate of South Windsor High School.

Hathaway, 39, has more than 2,500 flight hours in 30 types of aircraft, more than 500 carrier arrested landings, and flew 39 combat missions, according to NASA.

The son of Donna and Jeff Hathaway, he earned a bachelor’s degree in physics and history from the U.S. Naval Academy in 2004. He earned a master’s of science in flight dynamics from Cranfield University in 2014, and a master’s in national security and strategic studies from the U.S. Naval War College. He also graduated from Empire Test Pilot’s School in 2011, part of Fixed Wing Class 70.

Hathaway completed an operational tour with Strike Fighter Squadron 14, deploying aboard the USS Nimitz in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, and other western Pacific exercises and events. He returned to operational flying with Strike Fighter Squadron 136, deploying aboard the USS Truman in support of Operation Inherent Resolve, and other Mediterranean and North Atlantic exercises and events.

In 2019, Hathaway was assigned to the J-6 department of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Pentagon, where he served as a subject matter expert on tactical datalink policy and acquisition efforts. While on staff, he was selected to command Strike Fighter Squadron Eight One.

A former Eagle Scout with Troop 186 in South Windsor, he has earned numerous awards and honors during his Navy career, including the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Strike Flight Air Medal; Navy Marine Corps Commendation Medal (two awards); Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal (two awards); and 2013 VX-23 Test Pilot of the Year.

Hathaway and his nine fellow class members will report for duty in January to complete two years of initial astronaut training.