Benjamin Alvin Drew Jr. is a distinguished United States Air Force officer and former NASA astronaut who made significant contributions to American space exploration. Born in 1962, Drew built a career in military aviation before being selected by NASA as part of Astronaut Group 18 in July 2000. Over his tenure with the space agency, he transitioned from a military pilot to a key figure in orbital missions and international space operations.\n\nDrew's spaceflight career is highlighted by two major missions to the International Space Station (ISS). His first journey into space occurred in August 2007 aboard the Space Shuttle mission STS-118. Following this rookie flight, Drew expanded his international expertise by spending nearly a year at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonauts Training Center in Star City, Russia, where he served as NASA's director of operations, overseeing critical training programs.\n\nIn March 2011, Drew returned to space on STS-133, which marked the historic final flight of the Space Shuttle Discovery. During this mission, Drew performed two spacewalks, and on February 28, 2011, he achieved the distinction of becoming the 200th person to walk in space. He also holds the historic distinction of being the final African-American astronaut to fly on board a Space Shuttle. Following his active flight career, Drew transitioned to leadership roles within NASA, including serving as the director of space sustainability and acting director of Cross-Directorate Technical Integration for the Space Operations Mission Directorate.
