In Memory of Piers Sellers

Piers Sellers was a British born Anglo-American astronaut, who flew on three Space Shuttle missions between 2002 and 2010. He clocked up more than a month in space and carried out multiple spacewalks as he helped to assemble the International Space Station.

Sadly, Piers passed away after a long battle with pancreatic cancer on 23 December 2016. He was a good friend of the National Space Centre and his family and friends are in our thoughts.

We are fortunate to exhibit objects from his incredible life, including this flight helmet that he wore whilst flying NASA Northrop T-38 Talon jet aircraft. T-38’s have been NASA’s choice of training jet for over 50 years. Piers once recollected that training for his Shuttle missions involved long days flying to the Kennedy Space Center from the Johnson Space Center, to carryout test work and procedural evaluation on the hardware he later installed on the International Space Station. He could see the Shuttle Launchpad he would go on to use at the Kennedy Space Center from his T-38 window (see pic).

Like most astronauts Piers was an exceptional person. Intelligent, kind and funny, the way he approached his illness was testament to the type of person he was. Knowing that his time was limited, he spent his final months campaigning to raise awareness of climate change, and, as NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said, “Piers devoted his life to saving the planet”.