Spain’s First Astronaut, Pedro Duque, Named IEEE Honorary Member

Many youngsters fascinated by exploring outer space dream of becoming an astronaut, but few do. One who had the right stuff is Pedro Duque, who was Spain’s first astronaut. The aeronautics engineer flew aboard the space shuttle Discovery and the International Space Station.

After retiring as an astronaut, he headed Spain’s Ministry of Science, Innovation, and Universities. Today he is the chairman of HispaSat, a Spanish satellite company.

Nearly 30 years after his first mission, Duque is still Spain’s most famous astronaut. Three public schools have been named after him, and he has received numerous awards. This year, the IEEE Board of Directors made him an IEEE honorary member for “contributions to space exploration, leadership in collaborative science and technology programs, and serving as a role model for younger generations.”

He was unable to attend the 24 April ceremony in New York City, but he expressed his gratitude in recorded acceptance remarks in his award presentation shown during the event.

“We engineers of all specialties recognize the leadership of your institute—the largest and most important engineering society in the world,” he says in the video. “What an honor it is to belong now to an organization whose purpose it is to foster technological innovation and excellence for the benefit of humanity.”

Inspired by Apollo 11

Duque says he knew he wanted to be an engineer from a young age. It’s not surprising that he became interested in aeronautics, as his father was an air traffic controller who explained to him how airplanes worked.

In 1969, when he was 6 years old, he was inspired to become an astronaut after watching the Apollo 11 moon landing.

“I didn’t know anyone who wasn’t attracted to space exploration,” after the moon landing, he says, laughing. “It was presented in such an epic manner, with declarations about its impact on society. The landing made us aware that humanity was exploring new places, and I was keen on knowing more about them.”

His dream of becoming an astronaut was unrealistic at the time, he says, because the country had no space program. Spain was ruled by Francisco Franco, who spent little to no money on scientific innovation, Duque says.

That changed after Franco died in 1975. The country transitioned to a democratic constitutional monarchy and began participating in research and development programs, particularly with the European Space Agency (ESA).

Astronaut duties

Duque earned an aeronautical engineering degree in 1986 from the aeronautical and space engineering school at the Polytechnic University of Madrid.

His first job was as an engineer in the flight dynamics group at GMV, a space and technology company based in Madrid. He was a member of the orbit determination group and worked at ESA’s European Space Operations Centre, in Darmstadt, Germany. He helped develop algorithms, orbit computational software, and computer models.

He was also a member of the space agency’s flight control team for the European Remote Sensing-1 satellite, launched in 1991, and the European Retrievable Carrier, launched in 1992 on the space shuttle Atlantis’s STS-46 mission.

In 1990, ESA recruited candidates for its astronaut program—which Duque says rarely happens. He and several colleagues applied.

“Why not?” he says. “What we thought we wanted to be when we were little was now possible.”

After a considerable selection process, Duque was chosen in 1992 to join the agency’s Astronaut Corps. He trained at the European Astronaut Centre and at the Russian Cosmonaut Training Center (now known as the Gagarin Research and Test Cosmonaut Training Center).

In 1994, he served as the prime crew interface coordinator on the ESA–Russian EuroMir space station. He managed communication between the astronauts on the Mir station and the European scientists to help ensure orbital experiments and operations ran smoothly.

NASA selected Duque to be an alternate payload specialist on the ground for space shuttle Columbia’s STS-78 mission in 1996. In that role, he was trained to operate and manage scientific experiments, equipment, and cargo during a crewed mission. He also supported the flight from the ground as a crew interface coordinator.

His first flight into space was in 1998 as a mission specialist representing the ESA on the space shuttle Discovery’s STS-95 mission. He managed in-orbit tasks, experiments, spacewalks, and equipment operations.

He served as a flight engineer in 2003 onboard the Soyuz TMA-3 Cervantes, a joint mission between Russia and Spain to the International Space Station. He operated the station systems, managed daily maintenance tasks, and performed scientific experiments assisted by the mission commander.

Memories of flying with John Glenn

The years of training and preparation to become an astronaut were rigorous, he says, but the experience was fulfilling. Even though he spent only about 10 days on each mission, he says, “they were very rewarding times because all the preparation paid off, and we got the results we needed.”

Some of his favorite memories were viewing Earth during the day and night for the first time, and watching it pass from one phase to the other. Another was seeing the moon flattened to almost a sliver during the few seconds before it set. Experiencing microgravity was a thrill as well, he says.

“I also cherish the companionship of the people who worked alongside me in space and on the ground,” he adds.

One was John H. Glenn, the first American to orbit the Earth. Duque flew with Glenn on Discovery. They talked about the selection criteria for astronauts. Glenn told him those on board the Apollo and Gemini missions were chosen because they were test pilots, who were thought to be most likely to handle problems or failures effectively and proactively.

“The technology in today’s missions is advanced enough that astronauts won’t be needed to handle probable catastrophic equipment failures,” Duque says. “Instead, they will perform experiments and update or fix the devices used in space capsules. But flights to the moon and even Mars will use new types of spacecraft that might not necessarily work as planned, so those astronauts will have to know how to fix them and possibly solve critical problems on their own.

“Also, future astronauts will have to live with others in a confined space for months, and not everyone can do that.”

The price of sudden fame

As Spain’s first astronaut, Duque became a celebrity. Among his honors are Russia’s Order of Friendship and Spain’s Great Cross of Aeronautical Merit and Princess of Asturias Award. He also received NASA’s Space Flight Medal, which is given to an astronaut who flies aboard a U.S. space mission.

Learning to navigate sudden fame and being treated like a celebrity was challenging, Duque says. Like many engineers, he was accustomed to working behind the scenes and out of the public eye.

“Being famous, both in the profession and the public, was quite difficult in the beginning,” he says. “Being a celebrity doesn’t come easily to me, but after so many years, somehow I learned how to deal with it.”

People might assume that an astronaut’s leadership skills come effortlessly, Duque says, but that’s not always the case.

“Everybody gives so much importance to your opinion, and sometimes I was surprised by that,” he says. “Being an astronaut, you tend to have a certain kind of leadership style because it’s what you have done for years without knowing it.”

Minister of science and other leading roles

His leadership style has served him well. After he retired from the ESA in 2018, he was appointed as Spain’s minister of science, a role he held until 2021. He oversaw the government’s policies on scientific research, technological development, innovation, space programs, and higher education. During his term, Spain committed to contributing US $800 million (€701 million) between 2020 and 2026 to the ESA—which at the time was the largest overall investment in the agency’s history.

After retiring as an astronaut, Pedro Duque headed Spain’s Ministry of Science, Innovation, and Universities. Today, the IEEE honorary member is the chairman of HispaSat, a Spanish satellite company.Isaac Buj/AP

In 2022, he joined Destinus Spain, a European defense manufacturer that develops technologies for aircraft propulsion and auxiliary systems. He advised its strategic committee.

The following year, Spain’s government appointed him president and chairman of the HispaSat board. Headquartered in Madrid, the satellite operator provides broadcasting and broadband services for Europe, North Africa, and the Americas. The public-private partnership was in its origin a joint initiative between the Spanish government and private telecom companies.

The IEEE honor was a surprise

Duque says he was surprised to learn that IEEE added him to its membership ranks. He was aware that a colleague had nominated him, but he deemed it unlikely the nomination would be supported.

“When I started looking into who its members were, I wondered why they selected me,” he says. “Obviously, electrical engineering is not my branch, but it could have been, because growing up, I was just as interested in telecommunications as I was in aeronautics.

“Most engineers know IEEE for its standards and the work it does in achieving consensus in standards development.”

After discussing with several colleagues who were IEEE members about the significance of the IEEE honorary membership—which is bestowed for a significant achievement and impact on society— Duque feels the award is a significant honor.

“I’m still in the early phase of figuring out how I can contribute to IEEE,” he says, “and what I can do for the many hundreds of thousands of members, all whom have impressive qualities.”