NASA truly went where no one had gone before in the twenty second century.  On ships that flew between four and twelve times the speed of light, they scouted over a hundred lightyears away.  They spent decades in space.  The Vulcan Missions left for The Wall in 2170.  Most of them were not home when the Peloran made Contact.  It was years, over a decade for some, before their crews found out.  They were the last NASA Astronauts, the last of a great generation.