William Shatner, Astronaut Jessica Meir to Enter Air and Space Hall of Fame

William Shatner, “Star Trek’s” Captain James T. Kirk, and Jessica Meir, UC San Diego graduate, biologist, and NASA astronaut, are among those slated to be inducted into the International Air & Space Hall of Fame at a gala at the San Diego Air & Space Museum Saturday.

Meir is also a pivotal member of the Artemis program, which intends to land the first woman and next man on the moon.

The 5:30 p.m. gala, to be held in the museum’s Edwin D. McKellar Pavilion of Flight, will also honor Royce Williams, US Naval Aviator and Korean War Navy Cross recipient, Robert DeLaurentis, record-setting American aviator and General Atomics — Aeronautical Systems Inc., for its work in unmanned aerial systems.

“We’re exceptionally pleased to honor this exemplary class of 2023 because these men and women represent a vast range of the ongoing advances in aviation and space exploration,” said Jim Kidrick, president and CEO of the San Diego Air & Space Museum. “Achievements in aviation and space, as embodied by the honorees in the prestigious International Air & Space Hall of Fame, directly represent the human pioneering spirit and pursuit of mankind’s final frontiers.

Since 1963, the International Air & Space Hall of Fame has honored the world’s most significant pilots, crew members, visionaries, inventors, industry-leading companies, aerospace engineers, aerospace industrialists, preservationists, designers, and space explorers.

–City News Service