First Native American Astronaut Honored

 NOVATO, CA -- Astronaut John B. Herrington will be a VIP guest at San Francisco Fleet Week's "Navy in Space" exhibit.

In 2002, He flew on Space Shuttle Endeavor's STS-113 mission logging in over 330 hours in space, including 3 space walks totaling 20 hours. As a registered Chickasaw, he was the first Native American to travel into space and carried a Chickasaw Nation flag on his eleven-day space trip.

The "Navy in Space" exhibit is presented by The W Foundation (thewfoundation.org) and is sponsored by The Wreyford Foundation and Winans International (winansintl.com). The exhibit features unique artifacts from The W Foundation, The Chabot Space & Science Center, and the U.S.S. Hornet Museum. The emphasis is on the naval history of space exploration and how discoveries in science and technology allowed the U.S. to be the leader in space travel. In fact, this unique exhibit gives the public a rare opportunity to touch and hold space-flown artifacts.

Event Information: October 9th – 10th, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, Fort Mason, Building D, Fleet Room, Free of Charge

The W Foundation is a volunteer staffed, privately funded 501c3 education non-profit corporation, which Deborah Wreyford and her husband, Ken Winans, founded in 2004. The Foundation owns and displays one of the largest private collections of U.S., Russian and Soviet space exploration artifacts. Items from this extensive collection have been on display for many years at such Bay Area institutions as Chabot Space Science Center and The USS Hornet Museum.

It has also attracted legendary figures such as Apollo 12 Astronaut Dick Gordon, award winning actor Bill Pullman and video game designer Will Wright to its Board of Advisors.

For more information on the "Navy in Space" exhibit go to thewfoundation.org or fleetweek.us