John D. “Danny” Olivas grew up in the border city of El Paso, Texas, across the Rio Grande from Mexico. Its population is now 81% Hispanic, the largest Hispanic population of any major city within the United States. Olivas and his extended family have been part of that vibrant community since his great-grandfather Valente Olivas migrated from Mexico in 1894.
Born three years before the Apollo 11 Moon landing, a young Olivas became aware of space exploration at the age of seven on a family trip to Houston that included a visit to NASA’s Johnson Space Center. There, while looking at models of rockets and spacecraft, his father Juan told him about his job as a machinist making parts for real space vehicles. Thereafter, it was the son’s dream to work in the space program and become an astronaut. He earned a bachelor’s degree at the University of Texas at El Paso, then a master’s degree from the University of Houston—both in mechanical engineering—and ultimately a doctorate from Rice University in both mechanical engineering and materials science. A certified professional engineer (PE), he worked for two years as a senior research engineer and technical program manager at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California.
While pursuing his graduate degrees, Olivas applied to be an astronaut several times. Nine years after his first attempt Olivas was selected by NASA to be one of 25 new astronaut candidates in 1998 at the age of 32. After two years of intense training as a mission specialist, he was eligible for a flight assignment. Before that happened, though, he worked on robotics and extravehicular activity (EVA) projects in readiness for International Space Station (ISS) assembly missions. He also participated in NASA’s NEEMO program as a crewmember on two underwater missions, living and working in the submerged Aquarius Reef Base in the Florida Keys in simulated space missions.
By the time Olivas flew on two space shuttle missions, he was an expert in all the tools and techniques needed for EVAs. His first mission, STS-117 on Space Shuttle Atlantis, occurred in 2007. As an EVA crewmember on this ISS assembly mission, he was tasked with installing a large truss segment, deploying solar arrays, and installing other equipment. In a first-ever attempt, Olivas repaired a torn piece of insulation blanket on the shuttle’s exterior surface during an EVA. He spent more than 14 hours outside on two spacewalks and became the first person of Mexican-American heritage to walk in space.
His second mission, STS-128 on Space Shuttle Discovery in 2009, also went to the ISS, this time to deliver and install the large Leonardo Multi-Purpose Logistics Module to expand the science and storage area of the space station. He logged another 20 hours of EVA in three spacewalks and brought his cumulative time in space to 28 days (668 hours).
After each mission, Olivas treated himself to a special memento—a pair of custom cowboy boots hand-made by Lucchese Boot Company in El Paso. Each pair featured the mission emblem design. He wore them regularly to work and public appearances, with a slight preference for the STS-117 pair, his first. After NASA transferred the orbiter Discovery to the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, when approached about donating to the Museum’s artifact collection something personal that reflected his identity, Olivas and his wife Marie decided that his STS-128 Discovery boots would be ideal. He presented them to the Museum during a public appearance broadcast in 2016. At the time, and perhaps still, they were the only documented cowboy boots in the Smithsonian’s vast collections.
Olivas holds six U.S. Patents and various NASA and academic recognitions for technology innovations. After leaving NASA, he joined the University of Texas at El Paso as director of its space technology research center. He also formed a consulting company to work on various engineering and research projects. Olivas wrote a children’s book, Endeavour’s Long Journey, published in 2013 and available in both English and Spanish, about a young boy’s visit to see the orbiter Endeavour on display. In 2020 he and his wife announced the Olivas Family Space For Everyone Foundation in response to family separation practices at the United States border; the foundation provides grants to provide health care and legal support for immigrant children and families entering the United States. Dr. Olivas is a director of engineering at Collins Aerospace and working on designing NASA’s next generation spacesuit to support the future of space exploration.
For more stories about Danny Olivas have a look at his STS-117 pre-flight interview.
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