Washington, DC’s Renowned Astronaut, Col. Frederick D. Gregory

Frederick Drew Gregory, is the first astronaut born, reared, and educated in the nation’s capital, Washington, DC, which is also home to the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum. He is a veteran of three space shuttle missions and the first African American to pilot and command a mission in space. He is also the first African American to rise to the second-highest NASA leadership position, Deputy Administrator.

Gregory’s story is generationally entwined with the history of the District of Columbia (DC). In an era of profound racism and segregation, Gregory’s family were respected members of Washington’s influential Black community. When he was born in 1941, members of his family already were making history, and Gregory followed suit in his own time.

Gregory’s uncle, Dr. Charles R. Drew, became famous for his medical research and innovation during World War II. His father, Francis Anderson Gregory, was locally prominent as assistant superintendent of DC Public Schools for many years and served as the first Black president of the Public Library’s Board of Trustees; the branch library in the Fort Davis neighborhood where the Gregory family lived is named in his honor. His mother, Nora Drew Gregory, a graduate of Dunbar High School, had a thirty-year career as a teacher in Washington’s elementary schools and led the library board after her husband. Her niece—Gregory’s cousin—Charlene Drew Jarvis served on the DC Council for more than two decades.

Gregory remembers his father taking him to Andrews Air Force Base for air shows and car races when he was a child; that was his earliest exposure to aviation. He also knew several Tuskegee Airmen who were friends of his father and often visited the Gregory's home, when he was too young to understand their historical significance but enjoyed their tales of flying. As a teenager, he made the connection between flying and the military and decided he wanted to be an aeronautical engineer and military aviator.

Gregory’s life became illustrious after he graduated from Anacostia High School—Washington’s schools were not yet integrated, but Gregory was active in an integrated Boy Scout troop. Nominated by civil rights activist and member of Congress Adam Clayton Powell Jr., Gregory attended the United States Air Force Academy, where he was the only Black cadet in his class and one of very few African Americans at the academy. He graduated with distinction and a degree in military engineering in 1964 and was commissioned as an officer into the Air Force.

When Gregory joined the Air Force, he first flew helicopters and then fighter aircraft, including the F-4 Phantom. He served in Vietnam, where he flew 550 combat rescue missions, and returned to enter the Naval Test Pilot School in Patuxent, Maryland. While serving as an engineering and research test pilot for both the Air Force and NASA, he earned a master’s degree in information systems from George Washington University, in his hometown. During his career, he logged 7,000 hours in more than 50 aircraft.

In 1978, NASA introduced Gregory as a pilot among the first new astronauts—the “TFNG” or “thirty-five new guys”—selected for the space shuttle era. His astronaut class included two more African Americans, scientists Guion Bluford and Ronald McNair; the three soon became NASA’s first African American astronauts to go to space. Among his other classmates were the first six women selected to join the astronaut corps and the first Asian American in space. The group received extraordinary media attention as NASA’s first examples of a more diverse astronaut corps. Jet and Ebony magazines featured the African Americans with pride.

Gregory flew on three space shuttle missions. The first, in 1985, was STS 51-B, a Spacelab science mission on Challenger, for which he was the pilot, the first African American in that role. He flew again in 1989, this time as commander of STS-33 on Discovery, for a classified Department of Defense mission. On this mission, Gregory became the first African American to command a spaceflight. His next mission as commander, STS-44 in 1991 on Atlantis, was also for the Department of Defense. Gregory claims he was so focused on his missions that he never really thought about being the first Black pilot or commander, but other people made it a mark of distinction.

After his last flight, Gregory transferred to NASA Headquarters in Washington to serve as Associate Administrator for the Office of Safety and Mission Assurance and then as Associate Administrator for the Office of Space Flight. In 2002, he became NASA’s Deputy Administrator, second in command to the Administrator during the difficult time of the 2003 Columbia tragedy and its aftermath. Once again, he was the first African American in the agency’s senior leadership, a position he held until 2005. He also served briefly as acting NASA Administrator in early 2005, after Sean O'Keefe left and before Mike Griffin was sworn in. His NASA career was equally balanced between years in Texas and back home in Washington, DC.

Gregory has received many military and NASA medals and awards, as well as education and civic honors. Like his father’s legacy was honored with a named library, Gregory has been honored with a building bearing his name, Gregory Hall at the U.S. Air Force Academy.

After he logged 455 hours in space, spent his military career in Vietnam and around the country and his active astronaut years in Texas, Gregory came home to Washington for his final stint at NASA and his retirement. This renowned Washingtonian remains active as a speaker, advisor, and consultant.