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Victor Glover

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This article is about the American astronaut. For other uses, see Victor Glover (disambiguation).

Victor Glover
Image
Glover in 2023
Born
Victor Jerome Glover Jr.

(1976-04-30) April 30, 1976 (age 49)
Pomona, California, U.S.
Education
SpouseDionna Odom
Children4
Awards
Space career
NASA astronaut
RankCaptain, United States Navy
Time in space
176 days, 8 hours, 1 minute
SelectionNASA Group 21 (2013)
Total EVAs
4
Total EVA time
26 hours, 7 minutes
Missions
Mission insignia
Image Image Image Image
Signature
Image

Victor Jerome Glover Jr. (born April 30, 1976) is an American naval officer, test pilot, and NASA astronaut of the 2013 class. A former F/A‑18 pilot and graduate of the United States Air Force Test Pilot School, in 2020 he piloted the first operational flight of SpaceX's Crew Dragon to the International Space Station. Glover served as a flight engineer on Expedition 64 and became the first Black American astronaut to live aboard the ISS. In April 2026, Glover piloted the Artemis II mission, during which he became the first person of color to travel to the vicinity of the moon, and one of the four humans who have traveled the farthest from Earth.

Early life and education

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Victor Jerome Glover Jr. was born on April 30, 1976, in Pomona, California. His mother, Cynthia Maxwell, a bookkeeper, and his father, Victor Jerome Glover, a retired police officer, are both African Americans.[1][2] His grandfather served in the Air Force during the Korean War period and faced obstacles that prevented him from pursuing a career in aviation.[3]

Glover’s interest in science and engineering was encouraged by his father. He graduated from Ontario High School in 1994, where he was a quarterback and running back for the Jaguars football team and received the school's 1994 Athlete of the Year Award.[4][5] He also competed in pole vault.[2][6]

Glover attended California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo[7] and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in general engineering in 1999. While at Cal Poly, he became a member of the Phi Beta Sigma fraternity,[5] joined the Mustangs wrestling team after placing sixth at the CIF State Championship Meet,[8] and competed as a defensive back on the 1996 Cal Poly football team, wearing number 23.[9]

From 2007 to 2010, Glover earned three master's degrees from three different institutions. He received a Master of Science in flight test engineering from the Air University of the United States Air Force at Edwards Air Force Base, California; a Master of Science in Systems Engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California;[10] and a Master of Military Operational Art and Science from Air University in Montgomery, Alabama.[5][10]

He also holds a certificate in space systems from the Naval Postgraduate School and a certificate in legislative studies from Georgetown University.[5]

Military career

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Glover was commissioned as an ensign in the United States Navy in 1999. He attended primary flight training at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida, and earned his naval aviator wings in 2001. He later trained on the F/A-18C Hornet with VMFAT-101 at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego, California. In 2003, he was assigned to VFA-34, based at Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia. With VFA-34, he embarked on the final deployment of the USS John F. Kennedy in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

In June 2006, Glover was selected to attend the United States Air Force Test Pilot School. After graduating in June 2007, he was designated a test pilot and began his developmental test tour with VX-31 at Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, California. In 2011, he was assigned to VFA-195 for his department head tour. Stationed at Naval Air Facility Atsugi, Japan, VFA-195 embarked on the USS George Washington in support of maritime operations in the Western Pacific Ocean.[11]

At the time of his selection as an astronaut candidate in 2013, Glover was serving on the personal staff of Senator John McCain as a legislative fellow in Washington, D.C.[12]

During his career, Glover has accumulated 3,000 flight hours in more than 40 aircraft and has completed over 400 carrier arrested landings and 24 combat missions.[5] His callsign is "Ike", given to him by one of his first commanding officers, meaning "I know everything".[7]

NASA career

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Image
Glover and his crewmates inside the SpaceX Crew-1 capsule during its approach to the ISS in 2020
Image
Official crew portrait for Artemis II, clockwise from left: Christina Koch, Glover, Jeremy Hansen, and Reid Wiseman

Glover was introduced as a member of NASA's Astronaut Group 21 in June 2013 and completed his training in 2015.[5]

Expedition 64/65

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In August 2018, Glover was introduced as one of NASA's Commercial Crew astronauts and was assigned to the first operational flight—and the second crewed flight overall—of SpaceX's Crew Dragon.[13] As part of that mission, he served as a station systems flight engineer on Expeditions 64 and 65 for more than six months.[14] Glover is the first Black American ISS Expedition crewmember to live aboard the International Space Station, rather than visit briefly during Space Shuttle assembly missions. According to The New York Times:[1]

Mr. Glover's achievement is notable for NASA, which has worked to spotlight the "hidden figures" in its history, but has so far sent only 14 Black Americans to space out of a total of more than 300 NASA astronauts. He will not be the first Black astronaut aboard the station. But those who preceded him from NASA were members of Space Shuttle crews during the station's construction and only made brief stays on the outpost.[1]

SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule Resilience launched on November 15, 2020, carrying Glover along with NASA astronauts Michael S. Hopkins and Shannon Walker and JAXA astronaut Soichi Noguchi. They arrived at the International Space Station on November 17.[15] During his stay, Glover was selected as one of 18 astronauts for NASA's Artemis Program on December 9, 2020.[16]

Glover conducted his first spacewalk on January 27, 2021, working with Hopkins for more than six hours to upgrade the Columbus module.[17] On his second spacewalk, also with Hopkins, he replaced a broken external camera.[14] During his third spacewalk, he and Kate Rubins began work to upgrade the station's power system in preparation for new solar arrays.[18]

On February 24, 2021, NASA released a video call between Vice President Kamala Harris and Glover aboard the station. According to NASA, "the conversation ranged from the legacy of human spaceflight to observing Earth from the vantage of the space station, Glover's history-making stay aboard the orbiting laboratory, and preparing for missions from the Moon to Mars".[19]

Artemis II

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On April 8, 2023, Glover was announced as the pilot of the Artemis II mission,[20] which launched at 22:35 UTC on April 1, 2026, and flew around the Moon on April 6, 2026.[21][22][23] He is joined by NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman and Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen.[24]

Personal life

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Glover is married to Dionna Odom Glover, and they have four daughters.[5][25]

Glover is a Christian and attends a Churches of Christ congregation in Friendswood, Texas, with his wife.[26] He has cited his faith as a major source of inspiration throughout his career and carried several religious items, including a Bible and communion cups, to the International Space Station.[27]

Glover says he listens to "Whitey on the Moon", a 1970 poem by Gil Scott-Heron, twice a week on his commute to work.[28]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Waller, Allyson (November 15, 2020). "Victor Glover will be the first Black crew member on the space station". The New York Times. Retrieved November 17, 2020. Originally from Pomona, Calif., Mr. Glover graduated with a bachelor's degree in general engineering from California Polytechnic State University in 1999. Over the course of 2007 to 2010, he earned three master's degrees: in flight test engineering, systems engineering and military operational art and science.
  2. ^ a b "A SoCal native is set to pilot NASA's lunar mission — and become the first Black person to reach the moon". Los Angeles Times. March 30, 2026. Retrieved April 6, 2026.
  3. ^ "Victor Jerome Glover Biography: First Black NASA Pilot | BroadBiography". August 7, 2023. Retrieved November 5, 2023.
  4. ^ "Astronaut candidate from Pomona hopes to someday man space station". dailybulletin.com. Inland Valley Daily Bulletin. June 29, 2013. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g "Victor J. Glover, Jr. (Commander, U.S. Navy) NASA Astronaut". nasa.gov. NASA. February 4, 2016. Retrieved December 24, 2019.
  6. ^ Cortese, Samantha; DuBose, Josh (April 4, 2023). "Southern California native to pilot NASA's next mission to the moon". KTLA. Retrieved April 6, 2026.
  7. ^ a b Campbell, Carolyn (July 18, 2019). "VISIT HOUSTON CONVERSATION WITH ASTRONAUTS GLOVER & HOPKINS". Visit Houston. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
  8. ^ "Poly wrestling program brings in 11 newcomers". San Luis Obispo Telegram-Tribune. July 29, 1994. pp. C-2.
  9. ^ "Rosters". San Luis Obispo Telegram-Tribune (Goal Post ed.). November 2, 1996. p. 7.
  10. ^ a b Vicky Stein (April 27, 2021). "Victor Glover: NASA astronaut and SpaceX Crew Dragon pilot". Space.com. Retrieved November 5, 2023.
  11. ^ Glover, Victor J. (2011). "Talking Back-Weapons, Warfare, and Feedback". Air Force Journal of Logistics. 35 (1–2): 134–142. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
  12. ^ Hutcheson, Susannah (May 18, 2017). "How I became an astronaut: Victor Glover". USA Today. Retrieved July 18, 2019.
  13. ^ "NASA Assigns Crews to First Test Flights, Missions on Commercial Spacecraft". NASA. August 3, 2018. Retrieved August 4, 2018.
  14. ^ a b Gohd, Chelsea (February 1, 2021). "Spacewalking astronauts complete a space station battery upgrade years in the making". Space.com. Retrieved February 27, 2021. Once secure on the arm, and with help from Rubins inside the orbiting laboratory, Glover 'flew' over to the camera's site, with the blue hues of the Atlantic Ocean swirling hazily below. Glover successfully replaced the broken camera on the starboard truss, the first of three cameras to be installed during the spacewalk. To do this, Glover used a pistol grip tool (PGT), which astronauts use to remove and install bolts during spacewalks.
  15. ^ Wall, Mike (November 17, 2020). "Victor Glover becomes 1st Black astronaut to arrive at space station for long-term stay". Space.Com. Retrieved November 17, 2020. Glover and three crewmates — fellow NASA astronauts Mike Hopkins and Shannon Walker and Japan's Soichi Noguchi — left Earth on Sunday evening (Nov. 15) aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule "Resilience." The launch kicked off Crew-1, SpaceX's first-ever contracted, fully operational astronaut mission to the space station for NASA.
  16. ^ Warner, Cheryl; Dean, Brandi; Sumner, Megan (December 9, 2020). "NASA Names Artemis Team of Astronauts Eligible for Early Moon Missions" (Press release). Washington, D.C.: NASA. Archived from the original on November 18, 2022. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
  17. ^ Strickland, Ashley (January 27, 2021). "NASA astronauts Victor Glover, Mike Hopkins conduct spacewalk Wednesday". CNN. Retrieved February 27, 2021. It was the first spacewalk experience for Glover...The spacewalk officially began at 6:28 a.m. ET and ended at 1:24 p.m. ET. It lasted for about six hours and 56 minutes.
  18. ^ Strickland, Ashley (February 28, 2021). "Astronauts Kate Rubins and Victor Glover conducted a Sunday spacewalk". CNN. Retrieved February 28, 2021. Astronauts Kate Rubins and Victor Glover Jr. began their spacewalk outside of the International Space Station at 6:12 a.m. ET and ended at 1:16 p.m. on Sunday. The spacewalk assisted with a continuation of upgrades for the space station orbiting Earth.
  19. ^ Etkind, Mark (February 27, 2021). "Vice President Kamala Harris Calls NASA Astronaut Victor Glover". NASA. Retrieved February 27, 2021. In celebration of Black History Month, NASA astronaut Victor Glover welcomed Vice President Kamala Harris to the International Space Station for a virtual chat.
  20. ^ "Watch Live: NASA announces astronauts for Artemis II moon flyby mission". YouTube. CBS News. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
  21. ^ Low, Lauren E. (April 1, 2026). "Liftoff! NASA Launches Astronauts on Historic Artemis Moon Mission". NASA. Retrieved April 2, 2026.
  22. ^ Donaldson, Abbey A. (December 5, 2024). "NASA Shares Orion Heat Shield Findings, Updates Artemis Moon Missions". NASA. Retrieved December 5, 2024.
  23. ^ Berger, Eric (September 23, 2025). "NASA targeting early February for Artemis II mission to the Moon". Ars Technica. Retrieved December 16, 2025.
  24. ^ Berger, Eric (April 4, 2023). "All of a sudden, NASA's return to the Moon feels rather real". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on April 4, 2023. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
  25. ^ Ashton, Jennifer. "ABC News' Dr. Ashton interviews NASA astronauts Kate Rubins and Victor Glover on the ISS". youtube.com. ABC News. Event occurs at 25:44. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
  26. ^ Ross, Bobby Jr. "Christian astronaut pilots first moon mission in 53 years". The Christian Chronicle. Retrieved April 4, 2026.
  27. ^ Foust, Michael. "Meet the Man of Faith Helping Pilot NASA's Historic Return to the Moon". Crosswalk. Retrieved April 4, 2026.
  28. ^ Kramer, Miriam (April 18, 2023). "Artemis II pilot Victor Glover wants to talk about "Whitey on the Moon" with his colleagues". Axios. Retrieved April 6, 2026.

Bibliography

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  • Glover, Victor J. (2012). Talking Back: Weapons, Warfare, and Feedback. BiblioScholar Dissertations. ISBN 978-1286863367.
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