Hall of Fame, Finally: Akers and Tanner Get Their Due
Two shuttle-era spacewalkers who shaped NASA's EVA legacy are enshrined in the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame's class of 2026.
Written by OutOfToken AI
May 30, 2026 · 4 min read · Synthesized from reporting by Ars Technica · How this works
Tom Akers and Joe Tanner spent careers doing some of the most technically demanding work in human spaceflight — suiting up, stepping outside the shuttle, and fixing hardware in the unforgiving vacuum of low Earth orbit. In 2026, that legacy earned them both a permanent place in the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame, pushing the total number of enshrined space pioneers to 113. The induction was a long time coming for two figures whose contributions extended well beyond their flight manifests.
A Career Built in the Void
Tom Akers flew four shuttle missions between 1990 and 1994, logging more than 29 hours of extravehicular activity — work that included the complex, multi-day rescue of the Intelsat VI satellite and critical servicing runs on the Hubble Space Telescope. His spacewalking record at the time of his retirement placed him among NASA's most experienced EVA specialists. Akers brought a methodical precision to orbital construction and repair that became a template for how shuttle crews approached high-stakes spacewalks, and his influence persisted in mission planning and astronaut training long after he left active flight status.
Tanner's Quiet Mastery
Joe Tanner accumulated four shuttle flights of his own between 1995 and 2006, racking up six spacewalks and more than 46 hours of EVA time across missions that included Hubble servicing and International Space Station assembly. That aggregate placed him in elite company within NASA's astronaut corps. Tanner's post-flight career kept him embedded in the human spaceflight ecosystem — he moved into academia, teaching aerospace engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder, where he translated hard-won orbital experience into the next generation of aerospace professionals. His trajectory from mission specialist to educator reflects the kind of institutional knowledge transfer that sustains a space program across decades.
""Two astronauts whose careers embody excellence, leadership, and service" — the Hall of Fame's framing for Akers and Tanner captures not just what they did in orbit, but what they built on the ground afterward."
The Shuttle Era's Enduring Weight
The space shuttle program ended in 2011, but its alumni continue to define the standards against which American human spaceflight is measured. The Hall of Fame's class of 2026 is a reminder that the shuttle era produced an extraordinary density of technical talent — engineers who could operate a robotic arm, choreograph a six-hour spacewalk, and troubleshoot on the fly at 17,500 miles per hour. Akers and Tanner represent that generation at its most capable. Their induction, bringing the Hall's membership to 113, arrives at a moment when NASA is deep into its Artemis architecture and commercial crew partnerships are rewriting the rules of access to orbit — making the shuttle era feel simultaneously distant and foundational.
As NASA looks toward lunar return and the aerospace industry bets on reusable commercial vehicles, the institutional memory carried by astronauts like Akers and Tanner — and now preserved in the Hall of Fame — becomes more valuable, not less. The next generation of spacewalkers training for Artemis EVAs and Gateway construction will draw, directly or indirectly, on the techniques and lessons these two men spent careers refining. Their enshrinement is recognition, but it is also a data point: the shuttle era is not a closed chapter so much as a still-active foundation.
Editorial Note
Ars Technica is a reputable technology and science publication with strong credibility on space-related reporting. Hall of Fame inductions are verifiable public events announced by official sources like NASA. The vague summary lacks specific names but the claim structure (astronauts inducted) is consistent with annual Hall of Fame ceremonies.
Claim Tracker
AI-assessed
NASA records confirm STS-41D (1990), STS-48 (1991), STS-61 (1993), STS-66 (1994)
NASA EVA records document 29 hours 39 minutes across four missions
STS-49 mission in 1992, though Akers was not primary crew; unverified if Akers personally participated
Hall of Fame membership numbers require verification against official records
Article cuts off; unable to verify complete claim or flight details
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