Victor Glover

Victor Jerome Glover Jr. (born April 30, 1976) is a United States Navy captain, test pilot, and NASA astronaut. A former F/A‑18 pilot and graduate of the United States Air Force Test Pilot School, in 2020, he piloted the first operational flight of SpaceX's Crew Dragon to the International Space Station. Glover served as a flight engineer on Expedition 64 and became the first Black American astronaut to live aboard the ISS. In April 2026, Glover piloted the Artemis II lunar flyby mission, during which he became the only person of color to fly beyond low Earth orbit and to travel to the vicinity of the Moon. Glover and his crew travelled farther from Earth than any other humans.

Early life and education Victor Jerome Glover Jr. was born on April 30, 1976, in Pomona, California. His mother, Cynthia Maxwell, a bookkeeper, and his father, Victor Jerome Glover, a retired police officer, are both African Americans. His grandfather served in the Air Force during the Korean War period and faced obstacles that prevented him from pursuing a career in aviation.

Glover’s interest in science and engineering was encouraged by his father. He graduated from Ontario High School in 1994, where he was a quarterback and running back for the Jaguars football team and received the school's 1994 Athlete of the Year Award.

Glover attended California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo While at Cal Poly, he became a member of the Phi Beta Sigma fraternity, and competed as a defensive back on the 1996 Cal Poly football team, wearing number 23.

From 2007 to 2010, Glover earned three master's degrees from three different institutions. He received a Master of Science in flight test engineering from the Air University of the United States Air Force at Edwards Air Force Base, California; a Master of Science in Systems Engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California; and a Master of Military Operational Art and Science from Air University in Montgomery, Alabama.

At the time of his selection as an astronaut candidate in 2013, Glover was serving on the personal staff of Senator John McCain as a legislative fellow in Washington, D.C.

During his career, Glover has accumulated 3,000 flight hours in more than 40 aircraft and has completed over 400 carrier arrested landings and 24 combat missions.

NASA career

Glover was introduced as a member of NASA's Astronaut Group 21 in June 2013 and completed his training in 2015. As part of that mission, he served as a station systems flight engineer on Expeditions 64 and 65 for more than six months. Glover is the first Black American ISS Expedition crewmember to live aboard the International Space Station, rather than visit briefly during Space Shuttle assembly missions. According to The New York Times: Mr. Glover's achievement is notable for NASA, which has worked to spotlight the "hidden figures" in its history, but has so far sent only 14 Black Americans to space out of a total of more than 300 NASA astronauts. He will not be the first Black astronaut aboard the station. But those who preceded him from NASA were members of Space Shuttle crews during the station's construction and only made brief stays on the outpost. During his stay, Glover was selected as one of 18 astronauts for NASA's Artemis Program on December 9, 2020.

Glover conducted his first spacewalk on January 27, 2021, working with Hopkins for more than six hours to upgrade the Columbus module. On his second spacewalk, also with Hopkins, he replaced a broken external camera.

On February 24, 2021, NASA released a video call between Vice President Kamala Harris and Glover aboard the station. According to NASA, "the conversation ranged from the legacy of human spaceflight to observing Earth from the vantage of the space station, Glover's history-making stay aboard the orbiting laboratory, and preparing for missions from the Moon to Mars".

Artemis II

On April 3, 2023, Glover was announced as the pilot of the Artemis II mission, which launched at 22:35 UTC on April 1, 2026, and flew around the Moon on April 6, 2026. He was joined by NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman and Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen. Glover is the first African American to leave low Earth orbit and to travel around the Moon, and he and his crew reached the furthest human distance from Earth.

Personal life Glover is married to Dionna Odom Glover, and they have four daughters.

Glover is a Christian and attends a Churches of Christ congregation in Friendswood, Texas, with his wife. He has cited his faith as a major source of inspiration throughout his career and carried several religious items, including a Bible and communion cups, to the International Space Station.

Glover says he listens to "Whitey on the Moon", a 1970 poem by Gil Scott-Heron, twice a week on his commute to work.