Two space shuttle-era spacewalkers enter Astronaut Hall of Fame
Two space shuttle-era spacewalkers enter Astronaut Hall of Fame
两名航天飞机时代的太空行走者入选美国宇航员名人堂
Tom Akers and Joe Tanner are finally in the same class. The two veteran space shuttle crew members were inducted into the US Astronaut Hall of Fame together on May 16. They could also have been in the same NASA astronaut selection group, too, had history played out a little differently. 汤姆·埃克斯（Tom Akers）和乔·坦纳（Joe Tanner）终于成为了同一届名人堂成员。这两位资深的航天飞机机组成员于5月16日共同入选了美国宇航员名人堂。如果历史的发展稍有不同，他们本可能在同一批NASA宇航员选拔中脱颖而出。
In 1984, Tanner reported to the Johnson Space Center (JSC) to fly as an instructor pilot and then applied for the next class of astronaut candidates. “Tom came in with the class of 1987, which, interestingly enough, I interviewed for. He made it, and I didn’t,” said Tanner. “And I’ve been leading the way ever since,” said Akers, interrupting Tanner while both laughed in a joint interview with collectSPACE.com. “I have never understood why it took NASA so long to pick him.” (Tanner became an astronaut in 1992.) 1984年，坦纳前往约翰逊航天中心（JSC）担任教练飞行员，随后申请了下一届宇航员候选人选拔。“汤姆是1987届的，有趣的是，我当时也参加了那一届的面试。他入选了，而我没有，”坦纳说道。“从那以后我就一直走在他前面，”埃克斯打断了坦纳，两人在接受collectSPACE.com联合采访时大笑起来。“我一直不明白为什么NASA花了那么久才选中他。”（坦纳于1992年成为宇航员。）
Akers’ and Tanner’s spaceflight careers overlapped by five years and included four missions each. Although they never launched into Earth orbit together, they flew numerous T-38 jet training flights and knew each other well. “Our families were friends,” said Akers. “We went to the same church, so we were more social friends than work friends at JSC.” 埃克斯和坦纳的太空飞行生涯有五年重叠，每人都执行过四次任务。尽管他们从未一起进入地球轨道，但他们曾多次共同进行T-38喷气式飞机的训练飞行，彼此非常熟悉。“我们的家庭是朋友，”埃克斯说。“我们去同一所教堂，所以比起在约翰逊航天中心的工作伙伴，我们更多是生活中的朋友。”
Twenty years after the last of their flights returned from space, Akers and Tanner were finally side by side under the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex’s display of the retired space shuttle Atlantis—a vehicle on which both rode—to be inducted into the Astronaut Hall of Fame as the class of 2026. “It was something I was aware of as a possibility, but had never really given thought I would get inducted, said Akers. “So it was a pleasant surprise for sure.” 在他们最后一次太空飞行任务结束二十年后，埃克斯和坦纳终于并肩站在肯尼迪航天中心游客中心退役的“亚特兰蒂斯号”航天飞机下——这正是他们两人都曾乘坐过的航天器——以2026届成员的身份入选宇航员名人堂。“我意识到这是一种可能性，但从未真正想过自己会入选，”埃克斯说。“所以这确实是一个令人惊喜的意外。”
“We both knew we were on the ballot,” said Tanner. “I had been on the [nominee] ballot with Tom for 10 years.” “我们都知道自己入围了候选名单，”坦纳说。“我和汤姆一起在（提名）名单上待了10年。”
A pair of spacewalkers
一对太空行走者
The induction ceremony coincided with the 34th anniversary of Akers’ landing from what may have been his most famous mission. On May 16, 1992, he touched down on the space shuttle Endeavour after becoming one-third of the only three-person spacewalk in history. Akers, together with his STS-49 crewmates Rick Hieb and Pierre Thuot, reached up with their gloved hands to grab hold of and secure a communications satellite in the orbiter’s payload bay. 入选仪式恰逢埃克斯那次可能也是他最著名任务着陆34周年纪念日。1992年5月16日，他乘坐“奋进号”航天飞机着陆，此前他参与了历史上唯一一次三人太空行走。埃克斯与STS-49任务的机组成员里克·希布（Rick Hieb）和皮埃尔·苏特（Pierre Thuot）一起，用戴着手套的手抓住了轨道器载荷舱内的一颗通信卫星并将其固定。
“All of our spacewalks are designed really for two people; the system really isn’t made where it’s easy for three people,” Akers told collectSPACE. “That was a unique situation where we couldn’t get the capture bar on the Intelsat VI, and the ground [controllers] and our crew came up with the idea of three people going out. With the teamwork and great ground team support, it worked slick.” “我们所有的太空行走实际上都是为两人设计的；这套系统并不容易容纳三个人，”埃克斯告诉collectSPACE。“那是一个特殊的情况，我们无法抓住国际通信卫星6号（Intelsat VI）上的捕获杆，地面控制人员和我们的机组人员想出了三人出舱的主意。在团队合作和地面团队的大力支持下，任务完成得非常顺利。”
Akers and Tanner both conducted spacewalks to repair and upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), carefully manipulating delicate optical instruments in a closely confined area. Tanner also helped assemble the large backbone truss and solar arrays wings for the International Space Station (ISS). 埃克斯和坦纳都曾进行过太空行走，以维修和升级哈勃太空望远镜（HST），在狭小的空间内小心翼翼地操作精密的仪器。坦纳还协助组装了国际空间站（ISS）的大型主桁架和太阳能电池阵列翼。
“I have often been asked what is the difference between ISS and an HST EVA [extravehicular activity], and I think it’s hands and overall physical effort,” said Tanner. “Manual dexterity in your hands was more important for HST, and for ISS, you’re hauling around some pretty big, heavy objects and maneuvering a long way. That’s the biggest difference.” “我经常被问到国际空间站和哈勃太空望远镜的舱外活动（EVA）有什么区别，我认为在于手部操作和整体体力消耗，”坦纳说。“对于哈勃望远镜，手部的灵活性更重要；而对于国际空间站，你需要搬运一些非常大且沉重的物体，并进行长距离移动。这就是最大的区别。”
In total, Akers spent almost 30 hours of his nearly 34 days in space conducting spacewalks. Tanner logged 43 days, including 46 and a half hours on EVAs. 总计，埃克斯在近34天的太空飞行中，有近30小时用于太空行走。坦纳则记录了43天的飞行时间，其中包括46.5小时的舱外活动。
Joining the ranks
加入行列
Saturday’s ceremony was led by news correspondent John Zarella and included remarks by Curt Brown, board chairman of the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation, which manages the nominee and selection process each year; Therrin Protze, chief operating officer of the visitor complex; and Kelvin Manning, deputy director for NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. 周六的仪式由新闻记者约翰·扎雷拉（John Zarella）主持，发言者包括每年负责管理提名和选拔流程的宇航员奖学金基金会董事会主席柯特·布朗（Curt Brown）、游客中心首席运营官瑟林·普罗茨（Therrin Protze），以及NASA肯尼迪航天中心副主任凯尔文·曼宁（Kelvin Manning）。
“Today’s induction of Tom Akers and Joe Tanner honors two astronauts whose careers embody excellence, leadership, and service,” said Brown, who became a NASA astronaut in the same class as Akers and flew with Tanner on Atlantis. “Their lasting contributions to NASA, and their ongoing work as educators and mentors, reflect the very best of the US space program.” “今天汤姆·埃克斯和乔·坦纳的入选，旨在表彰两位职业生涯体现了卓越、领导力和奉献精神的宇航员，”与埃克斯同届入选NASA宇航员并曾与坦纳共同乘坐“亚特兰蒂斯号”的布朗说道。“他们对NASA的持久贡献，以及作为教育者和导师的持续工作，反映了美国太空计划最优秀的一面。”
“We’re proud to welcome them into the US Astronaut Hall of Fame,” said Brown, who is a member of the 2013 class. Brian Duffy, class of 2016, formally inducted Akers, presenting him with his Hall of Fame medal. Chris Ferguson, who flew as the pilot of Tanner’s last mission, STS-115, and who was inducted in 2022, honored his former crewmate similarly. “我们很荣幸欢迎他们加入美国宇航员名人堂，”2013届成员布朗说。2016届成员布莱恩·达菲（Brian Duffy）正式为埃克斯举行了入选仪式，并向他颁发了名人堂奖章。曾担任坦纳最后一次任务（STS-115）飞行员、并于2022年入选的克里斯·弗格森（Chris Ferguson）也以同样的方式向他曾经的机组成员致敬。