CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Clinton County native David Hilmers is set to be inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame this summer, according to a release from the Kennedy Space Center.
Hilmers, a retired U.S. Marine Corps colonel, was born in Clinton but considers DeWitt his hometown. Hilmers graduated with a degree in mathematics from Cornell College in 1972 after enlisting in the US Marine Corps.
During his 12-year career with NASA, he served in a variety of roles including shuttle software testing, space suit development, capsule communicator for six shuttle flights and as the head of the Mission Development branch of the astronaut office.
Hilmers flew as a mission specialist on a Department of Defense mission on the inaugural flight of the space shuttle Atlantis in 1985. He flew two more missions before deciding to pursue becoming a physician.
Then fate intervened, according to the Kennedy Space Center:
The week of his (Hilmer's) scheduled medical school entrance exams, in April 1992, astronaut Sonny Carter tragically died. He was asked to replace Sonny on STS-42, the International Microgravity Lab-1 (IML-1) mission, scheduled to launch in nine months. He accepted and began to train on the 60+ experiments that were manifested on IML-1. Just four weeks before launch, he was accepted into Baylor College of Medicine. Six months after landing in February 1992, Hilmers retired from NASA and as a Colonel in the Marine Corps and began a new mission as a medical student.
Hilmers is currently a Professor of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics at Baylor and serves as the Chief Medical Officer for an Australian-based NGO, Hepatitis B Free (HBF) which was founded by his wife, Dr. Alice Lee. The couple lives in Sydney, Australia.
He remains active with the space program. Hilmers is the Exploration Medicine Technical Lead for the Clinical Science Team with NASA. He has been involved in creating tools to help determine the requirements for medical expertise and resources on lunar and Martian space missions.
An official ceremony will take place on June 1, 2024, at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. Hilmers will be inducted along with astronaut Marsha Ivins, who worked with NASA for 37 years.
“These two veterans of the space program have demonstrated outstanding accomplishments in furthering NASA’s mission of exploration and discovery,” said Curt Brown, board chairman of the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation, which stewards the selection process. “Both Hilmers and Ivins represent the committed spirit of exploration, bravery, and teamwork that make our space program a continued success. We are proud and honored to have them join the ranks of the space pioneers recognized in the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.”
