Veteran Astronaut & Venture Capital Exec Bernard Harris Joins Raytheon Board

Bernard Harris Jr., the first African-American astronaut to complete a spacewalk 26 years ago, has been appointed to the board of directors of Raytheon Technologies (NYSE: RTX).

He concurrently serves as CEO and managing partner of Vesalius Ventures, an investment company focused on the health care technology market, and leads a nonprofit educational organization called National Math and Science Initiative, Raytheon said Monday.

“His groundbreaking work in space and his impressive leadership across business, education and healthcare are remarkable. We expect our management team, employees and shareowners will benefit from his extensive experience and from the leadership he demonstrates in community development,” Raytheon Technologies CEO Greg Hayes said of the board appointment.

During his NASA career, Harris performed research and development work in areas such as space adaptation, musculoskeletal physiology and in-flight medical technology. He was inducted into the Astronaut Corps in early 1990 and spent over than 438 hours in space during his tenure as an astronaut.

He offers philanthropic support to community-based health and education programs through his private foundation.

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