Spain’s First Astronaut, Pedro Duque, Named IEEE Honorary Member

Many youngsters fascinated by exploring outer space dream of becoming an astronaut, but few do. One who had the right stuff is Pedro Duque, who was Spain’s first astronaut. The aeronautics engineer flew aboard the space shuttle Discovery and the International Space Station.After retiring as an astronaut, he headed Spain’s Ministry of Science, Innovation, and Universities. Today he is the chairman of HispaSat, a Spanish satellite company.Pedro DuqueEmployer HispaSat in Madrid Title President and chairman of the board Member grade Honorary member Alma mater The Polytechnic University of MadridNearly 30 years after his first mission, Duque is still Spain’s most famous astronaut. Three public schools have been named after him, and he has received numerous awards. This year, the IEEE Board of Directors made him an IEEE honorary member for “contributions to space exploration, leadership in collaborative science and technology programs, and serving as a role model for younger generations.”He was unable to attend the 24 April ceremony in New York City, but he expressed his gratitude in recorded acceptance remarks in his award presentation shown during the event.“We engineers of all specia…

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