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South Windsor's Jack Hathaway is on track to become an astronaut

Connecticut Public Radio | By John Henry Smith
Published December 7, 2021 at 6:10 PM EST
astronaut_candidate_jack_hathaway By NASA.jpg
ROBERT MARKOWITZ NASA-JSC
/
NASA
Astronaut Candidate Individual Portrait, Jack Hathaway - ASCAN Class of 2021. Photo Date: December 3, 2021. Location: Building 8, Room 183 - Photo Studio. Photographer: Robert Markowitz

There have been 6 American astronauts who hail from the state of Connecticut.

Now we are on the cusp of having number 7 join their ranks.

When NASA announced it’s new 10 person astronaut candidate class Monday, South Windsor’s Jack Hathaway was among them.

United States Navy Commander Jack Hathaway spoke on "All Things Considered" about how his hometown prepared him for this moment.

He also talked about how he controls his fear, his thoughts on NASA's commitment to diversity and what he thinks about private efforts by people like Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos to colonize other celestial bodies.
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John Henry Smith
John Henry Smith is Connecticut Public’s host of All Things Considered, its flagship afternoon news program. He's proud to be a part of the team that won a regional Emmy Award for The Vote: A Connecticut Conversation. In his 21st year as a professional broadcaster, he’s covered both news and sports.
See stories by John Henry Smith

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

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You just read trusted, local journalism that’s free for everyone, thanks to donors like you.

If that matters to you, now is the time to give. Join the 50,000+ members powering honest reporting and a more connected — and civil! — Connecticut.

Connecticut Public’s journalism is made possible, in part by funding from Jeffrey Hoffman and Robert Jaeger.