BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – A Central Florida native is heading to space.
Astronaut Luke Delaney will pilot NASA’s SpaceX Crew-13 mission to the International Space Station, with a target launch date of Sept. 12. It will be his first mission to space, joining Expedition 75.
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Delaney earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of North Florida in 2006 before going on to earn a degree in aerospace engineering. Jacksonville was home for him, his wife Tracey, and their family for a period of time — a chapter of life he still reflects on fondly.
“It was early on for me and Tracey, my wife and my family — kind of a young family then,” Delaney said. “So it stands out as a lot of those experiences. Experiences on UNF.”
From Central Florida to the cosmos
Growing up in Debary, Delaney told WKMG news partner WJXT that watching Space Shuttle launches planted an early seed.
“I think the goal was always kind of there in the background — growing up in central Florida, watching Space Shuttle launches — kind of an inspiration for moving down that track,” he said.
Before NASA, Delaney built a career as a retired Marine, naval aviator and combat veteran. He has logged more than 550 combat flight hours and, including his NASA career, more than 3,900 total flight hours across 48 models of jet, prop and rotary wing aircraft.
“It all just kind of melts together pretty nicely,” Delaney said, “and the latter portion of my career in a test pilot environment — that helped culminate everything for astronaut training and future spaceflight missions.”
NASA selected Delaney to join the 2021 Astronaut Candidate Class, and he reported for duty in January 2022.
Spacewalks, science on agenda
Once aboard the International Space Station, Delaney said he is looking forward to getting outside the spacecraft.
“Of course we are looking forward to spacewalks, and looking forward to those — and that will be fantastic,” he said. “Any time you get outside of a spaceship and do some maintenance and upgrade things, it just sounds like a good time.”
The crew also has a full science agenda. Research planned for the mission includes work to better characterize blood flow, understand how fluid shifts affect human vision in microgravity, and explore stem cell development — examining how microgravity can be used to scale those opportunities.
Every challenge built on the last
When asked what has been the most challenging chapter of his career — becoming a pilot, a Marine or an astronaut — Delaney said each phase prepared him for the next.
“I think they all had their challenges. And it was perfect at that time for me that those challenges were something that I was ready for,” he said. “They all built on each other to get to this point.”
Now, the challenge ahead will take him further than any before — out of this world entirely.
Delaney is married to Tracey Delaney, and they have two daughters. His parents, Robert and Stephanie Delaney, are from Central Florida.