Portrait of John Bennett Herrington

John Bennett Herrington (born 14 September 1958) is an American astronaut and a veteran of one space shuttle mission. He is the first member of a Native American tribe to fly in space.

Herrington was born in Wetumka, Oklahoma. He grew up in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Riverton, Wyoming, and Plano, Texas where he graduated from Plano Senior High School. He earned a bachelor's degree in applied mathematics from the University of Colorado before receiving his commission in the United States Navy in 1984. He served three deployments in the Pacific region before being assigned as a test pilot. Herrington was chosen by NASA as an astronaut candidate in 1996 and flew his first space mission in 2002 as a mission specialist aboard STS-113.

To honor his Native American heritage, Herrington, an enrolled member of the Chickasaw Nation carried a Chickasaw Nation flag on his eleven-day trip. The flag had been presented to him by Chickasaw Nation Governor Bill Anoatubby. Herrington's maternal great-grandmother was of Chickasaw descent.

In September 2005, Herrington resigned from NASA to become Vice President/Director of flight Operations for Rocketplane Limited, Inc.. He will also serve as the pilot of the XP Spaceplane.

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration - August 2005

Spacefacts - December 2005