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NASA’s astronauts corps swelled with a new class of graduates Tuesday, including one man who grew up watching space shuttles launch from his Volusia County schoolyard.

Luke Delaney, 44, who was born in Miami but raised in DeBary and attended both DeLand and Deltona High School in Volusia, was one of 10 NASA astronaut candidates along with two international candidates from the United Arab Emirates chosen as members of the 23rd astronaut group in December 2021 from among 12,000 applicants.

“At Enterprise Elementary where I went, we definitely came out for a few launches,” he said. “They can see it from the playground. … Just then you’re wondering how humans are going to space. How’s this even possible? And now I’m thinking, not a matter of how, not even a matter of when, but just where? Where will I go and what will I be able to do to help forward space exploration for humanity.”

Now more than two years later, he and the rest of his class received their official astronaut pins on stage at Johnson Space Center in Houston during a ceremony that included congratulations from one of the 12 men who walked on the moon, Apollo 17 astronaut Harrison Schmitt. read more

By JIMMY GOLEN (AP Sports Writer)

HANOVER, N.H. (AP) — The Dartmouth men’s basketball team voted to unionize Tuesday in an unprecedented step toward forming the first labor union for college athletes and another blow to the NCAA’s deteriorating amateur business model.

In an election supervised by the National Labor Relations Board in the school’s human resources offices, the players voted 13-2 to join Service Employees International Union Local 560, which already represents some Dartmouth workers. Every player on the roster voted.

“Today is a big day for our team,” said Dartmouth juniors Cade Haskins and Romeo Myrthil, who have led the effort. “We stuck together all season and won this election. It is self-evident that we, as students, can also be both campus workers and union members. Dartmouth seems to be stuck in the past. It’s time for the age of amateurism to end.”

The school quickly appealed to the full NLRB, seeking to overturn last month’s decision by the board’s regional official that the Dartmouth players are employees and thus entitled to unionize. Both sides also have until March 12 to file an objection with the NLRB over the election procedures; barring that, the SEIU will be certified as the workers’ bargaining representative. read more