This year's U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame induction ceremony was also a reunion of sorts, as the two honorees took to the stage under the spacecraft on which they once crossed paths.
NASA's Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida hosted the ceremony under its display of the retired space shuttle Atlantis on Saturday (June 1). A full house of former astronauts, space program officials and the public were there to see David Hilmers and Marsha Ivins be added to the hall's ranks.
"We're here to honor two distinguished space explorers, who each have outstanding careers and have made incredibly significant contributions to NASA and the world," said John Zarella, a former CNN space correspondent who served as the master of ceremonies. "Together they comprise the 25th class of astronauts to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, bringing the total number of astronauts in this prestigious society to 109."
Related: NASA's space shuttle program in pictures: A tribute
