Being A First

The world is full of firsts, and John Bennett Herrington is one of them. Born on September 14, 1958, a member of the Chickasaw Nation in Wetumka, Oklahoma, Herrington grew up in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Riverton, Wyoming, and Plano, Texas, where he graduated from Plano Senior High School. After high school, he moved to Colorado to pursue a bachelor’s degree in applied mathematics, from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. While there, Herrington developed an interest in rock climbing in the Colorado mountains.

Herrington earned his commission in the United States Navy after graduating from the Aviation Officer Candidate School at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida, in March 1984. A year later, he became a Naval Aviator and headed to Patrol Squadron Thirty-One (VP-31) at Moffett Field, California, for P-3C Orion training. His first operational role was with Patrol Squadron Forty-Eight (VP-48), where he completed three deployments…two to the Northern Pacific from Naval Air Facility Adak, Alaska, and one to the Western Pacific from Naval Air Station Cubi Point, Philippines. During his time with VP-48, he served as a Patrol Plane Commander, Mission Commander, and Patrol Plane Instructor Pilot.

After finishing his first operational tour, Herrington returned to VP-31 as a Fleet Replacement Squadron Instructor Pilot. While there, he was chosen to attend the United States Naval Test Pilot School at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, in January 1990. He graduated that December and joined the Force Warfare Aircraft Test Directorate as a project test pilot for the Joint Primary Aircraft Training System. He also took on additional flight test assignments, flying various P-3 Orion models along with the T-34C and the de Havilland Canada Dash 7. After becoming an Aeronautical Engineering Duty Officer (AEDO), Herrington attended the United States Naval Postgraduate School, earning a Master of Science in aeronautical engineering in June 1995. He then worked as a special projects officer for the Bureau of Naval Personnel Sea Duty Component before being selected for the astronaut program.

During his military service, he was awarded the Navy Commendation Medal, Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation, Coast Guard Meritorious Unit Commendation, Coast Guard Special Operations Service Ribbon, National Defense Service Medal, Sea Service Ribbons (3), and various other service awards. Selected by NASA in April 1996, Herrington reported to the Lyndon B Johnson Space Center in August 1996. He completed two years of training and evaluation and qualified for flight assignment as a mission specialist. Herrington was assigned to the Flight Support Branch of the Astronaut Office where he served as a member of the Astronaut Support Personnel team responsible for Shuttle launch preparations and post-landing operations.

Herrington served as a mission specialist on STS-113, the sixteenth Space Shuttle trip to the International Space Station. To honor his Chickasaw heritage, Herrington, an enrolled citizen of the Chickasaw Nation, carried its flag on his thirteen-day trip to space. The flag had been presented to him by Chickasaw Nation Governor Bill Anoatubby. Endeavour launched from Kennedy Space Center on November 23, 2002, carrying the P1 Truss segment to support the Station’s radiators. It also brought the new Expedition 6 crew and returned to Earth on December 7, 2002, with the Expedition 5 crew after their six-month stay in space. The mission lasted 13 days, 18 hours, and 47 minutes. During the flight, Herrington completed three spacewalks totaling 19 hours and 55 minutes, an achievement honored on the reverse of the 2019 Sacagawea dollar coin.