Did you know? On this day in 1958, Congress passed legislation to establish the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Since then, the final frontier has been the site of exploration and research by NASA astronauts — including several from right here in Virginia.

We took a break from dreaming about the cosmos to explore the lives of two space explorers who have called Richmond home — Leland Melvin and Joe Edwards

Leland Melvin graduated from the University of Richmond. | Photo by Robert Markowitz, NASA

You may recognize Leland Melvin from his NASA picture, which includes his two dogs, Jake and Scout. The engineer attended the University of Richmond on a football scholarship and received a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry. A wide receiver for the UR squad, Leland was actually drafted by the Detroit Lions in the 1986 NFL draft, but his career ended due to untimely injuries at training camp. But hey, if you can’t play pro ball, why not go to outer space instead?

Leland started working at NASA in 1989 and was selected as an astronaut in 1998. He flew two missions on the Space Shuttle Atlantis in 2008 and 2009. When he wasn’t in space, Leland was traveling across the country to talk to students and educators about space exploration. He retired in 2014 and still holds lectures about his career and life.

Jim Edwards on the flight deck of the Orbiter Endeavour. | Photo from National Archives at College Park

Joe Edwards was born in Richmond in 1958 — the same year NASA was founded — before his family moved to Alabama. A naval aviator and aerospace engineer, Joe was selected as an astronaut in 1994. He flew into space in 1998 as part of a mission to transfer equipment from the Space Shuttle Endeavor to the Russian station Mir. The mission lasted almost 9 days and completed 138 orbits of the Earth. Joe retired from NASA in 2000.

We don’t know about you guys, but we think Leland + Joe are out of this world. 🚀