At the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex Dr. Norman E. Thagard left is inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame.

At the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, Dr. Norman E. Thagard (left) is inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame. Thagard was the first American to occupy Russia's Mir space station. Former NASA astronaut James A. Lovell Jr. holds a "penguin suit," the clothing Thagard wore aboard Mir. The suit will be put on display in the Hall of Fame. Also chosen for induction in 2004 are Kathryn D. Sullivan, the first American woman to walk in space; Richard O. Covey, commander of the Hubble Space Telescope repair mission; Frederick D. Gregory, the first African-American to command a space mission; and the late Francis R. "Dick" Scobee, commander of the ill-fated 1986 Challenger mission. The U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame opened in 1990 to provide a place where space travelers could be remembered for their participation and accomplishments in the U.S. space program. To be eligible for induction, an individual must have been a U.S. citizen, a NASA astronaut, and out of the active astronaut corps at least five years. The five inductees join 52 previously honored astronauts from the ranks of the Gemini, Apollo, Skylab, Apollo-Soyuz, and Space Shuttle programs.