José M. Hernández was born August 7, 1962, in French Camp, CA, but considers Stockton, CA, his hometown, according to his NASA biography. In 2004, NASA selected Hernández as an astronaut.
He joined the Johnson Space Center in Houston as a materials research engineer in 2001. He served as a mission specialist on the Space Shuttle’s STS-128 mission, the 37th space mission, in 2009.
Hernández grew up as one of four children in a migrant farming family from Mexico. He learned to speak English when he was 12 years old. In 1999, the Society of Mexican American Engineers and Scientists honored him for his professional and community contributions. He received a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of the Pacific in 1984 and a master’s in electrical and computer engineering from the University of California-Santa Barbara in 1986.
In September 2022, the University of Pacific posted an article about the making an Amazon Prime biopic, which tells the story of his journey from migrant farm worker to astronaut—and the hurdles along the way, including being rejected by NASA 11 times.
It was reported that the movie would likely be released in the summer of 2023. The statement also said that much of the movie would be shot in Mexico City. However, scenes also will be filmed at Johnson Space Center in Houston and Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
In 2020, Hernández earned a Medallion of Excellence from the Pacific Alumni Association for his service and served as a regent for Pacific from 2007 to 2016.
After graduating from high school in Stockton, he attended Pacific through a scholarship and retention program for first-generation college students from Stockton. He earned a degree in electrical engineering from the Pacific and a master’s from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
He began to pursue his dream of being an astronaut after working with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. In August 2009, Hernandez rocketed into space for two weeks as part of the Space Shuttle Mission STS-128 crew.
His son Julio Hernandez ’16, also a Pacific alumnus, hopes to follow his father into space one day and hopes the story inspires others just as it has for him. His daughter Marisol recently earned her master’s degree and spoke with children at Reaching for the Stars events, a STEM camp he helped found. A Stockton charter school was recently named in his honor, now called the Astronaut Jose M. Hernandez Academy.
Read an excerpt from his book: Reaching for the Stars – The Inspiring Story of a Migrant Farmworker Turned Astronaut here.
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