A Connection to Austin: Former Medical Center Dr inducted into U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame
On May 31, the Kennedy Space Center held the 2025 U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame Induction ceremony. Bernard Harris, a former Internal Medicine doctor at the Austin Medical Center, was one of two former NASA astronauts inducted.
Though Harris's roots are planted deep in Texas, he spent three years in the mid 1980s as a resident in Austin practicing medicine. Born in Temple, Texas in 1956, Harris went on to achieve things most of us could only dream about.
While in Austin, he discussed becoming an astronaut with co-workers. One co-worker, Diane Dammen of Austin, and an attendee of the induction ceremony, stated that they kiddingly gave him a hard time about it, but knew that if anyone could do it, it was Harris.
"That was in the 80s," Dammen said. "I know some of the doctors and nurses remember him. He was great to work with."
After leaving Austin, he traveled back to Texas where he completed his fellowship with the NASA Research Center in 1987. After the fellowship, he joined NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, where he worked as a flight surgeon, scuba diver and licensed pilot.
What Harris accomplished in the latter half of the 1980s was just the beginning. In 1990 he was selected to an astronaut crew, and in 1991 was made a mission specialist. In 1993, Harris made his first trip to space where he conducted various muscular skeletal experiments.
In 1995, he made history. Harris became the first African American to perform a spacewalk in the STS-63 mission nicknamed the "near Mir,"which marked early cooperation between the Russian / American Space Programs. The mission achieved the first space rendezvous between an American Space Shuttle and Russia's space station.
Harris was at NASA for 10 years, where he conducted research in musculoskeletal physiology and clinical investigations of space adaptation. He also developed in-flight medical devices to extend astronaut stays in space. Harris has also logged more than 438 hours and traveled over 7.2 million miles in space.
All these accomplishments led to May 31, 2025 — the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame induction ceremony. A ceremony that Dammen and her husband, Dave, were invited to.
"We were so surprised to receive an invitation to his induction," Dammen said. "We were so excited, there was no way we were not going to go."
The lead-up to the ceremony was three days of meetings and panel discussions featuring not only Harris, but other successful astronauts with stories to tell.
On day three family, friends and other astronauts gathered to recognize and celebrate the 2025 Hall of Fame inductees. With nearly 40 tables set up in the event center, each table had an astronaut assigned to it.
"They (astronauts) were the nicest people," Dammen said. "Just so easy to be around and to talk to."
Seeing Harris deliver a speech to the audience was something the Dammen's say they will never forget. To Diane, he is more than just a coworker, but a friend.
"The experience was awe inspiring to us," she added. "We never expected to be at anything like that. It's something we won't ever forget."
Today, Harris is the CEO and Managing Partner of Vesalius Ventures, Inc., a venture capital firm that invests in early to mid-stage Healthcare technologies and companies. He is president and founder of The Harris Institute/Foundation, a non-profit organization which serves socially and economically disadvantaged communities both locally and across the nation.
He has been involved in math and science education for over 25 years through his philanthropy. Through his foundation, Harris strives to support the most underserved populations in education, health, and wealth.
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