An illustration of a NASA astronaut flying with Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner and SpaceX’s Crew Dragon space capsules.NASA/Kennedy Space Center (via Flickr); Boeing; Shayanne Gal/Business Insider
NASA on Friday named four crews of astronauts that it says will begin “a new era in American spaceflight” by flying the first commercial spaceships, built by Boeing and SpaceX, in a series of test launches.
“For the first time since 2011, we are on the brink of launching American astronauts from American rockets on American soil,” NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine said during a televised briefing on Friday.
Crew Dragon, designed and built by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, and the CST-100 Starliner, made by Boeing, are the two spacecraft being developed for NASA as part of its Commercial Crew Program. Each ship requires two crewed test launches before NASA will certify it for routine flight.
The astronauts named today (see below) are tasked with those missions, all four of which are slated to happen sometime in 2019.
NASA started the Commercial Crew Program in 2010, just before it retired the last space shuttle in July 2011. The competition spurred private spaceflight companies to develop new astronaut-ready spacecraft — and Boeing and SpaceX emerged as top winners. The agency has doled out more than $8 billion in awards and contracts.
The program’s core goals are to get an American-made ships able reach the International Space Station (ISS), plus reduce or eliminate US reliance on Russia’s ever-more-expensive Soyuz spaceships to get there.
But the program has met multiple setbacks. Boeing and SpaceX were supposed to have their systems certified by 2017, according to a recent report from the Government Accountability Office. Some delays stemmed from launch vehicles, such as SpaceX’s September 2016 launchpad explosion of an uncrewed Falcon 9 rocket. Others came during spaceship development: Boeing, for example, recently discovered a fuel leak in its Starliner system.
If the spacecraft aren’t certified and ready by the end of 2019, NASA could temporarily lose access to the ISS. But the agency is confident that the Boeing and SpaceX missions are moving toward completion — a sentiment underscored by today’s announcement.
The space agency selected eight of its finest, plus a retired astronaut, from a wide array of backgrounds, including former space shuttle flyers, ex-military test pilots, rookies, and — critically — a cadre of four astronauts who’ve tested and provided feedback on the new commercial ships for years.
Here’s what we know about the first-ever astronauts to take part in a new space race.
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NASA selected its first commercial astronaut crews from a pool of about 33 candidates.
NASA astronauts who will be the first to fly inside SpaceX’s Crew Dragon. Left to right: Doug Hurley, Eric Boe, Bob Behnken, and Sunita Williams.SpaceX
More than 50 people are in NASA’s astronaut corps, though 12 in the agency’s 2017 astronaut class are still training.
NASA previously told Business Insider that anyone currently assigned to a space mission wouldn’t be picked for the Boeing and SpaceX flights. This left 33 “active” and eligible astronauts.
SpaceX’s Crew Dragon and Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner ships can each carry up to seven people. However, NASA assigned eight of its current astronauts each of the first four missions.
An illustration of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft (left) and Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft (right).NASA/Kennedy Space Center (via Flickr); Boeing; Shayanne Gal/Business Insider
Boeing is planning to fly one of its own employees as a third crewmember on the company’s inaugural flight of the CST-100 Starliner, the Washington Post reported.
Here are the newly selected NASA astronauts:
Eric Boe
NASA astronaut Eric Boe.NASA
Boe, who was selected as an astronaut in 2000, is arguably one of the most experienced pilots in the Commercial Crew Cadre.
As a retired Air Force colonel and test pilot, he’s flown for more than 6,000 hours inside 50 different aircraft. Boe has also piloted two space shuttle missions to and from orbit around Earth.
Boe is part of the mission that will fly the first crewed Boeing test flight, currently scheduled for mid-2019.
Chris Ferguson
Retired astronaut Chris Ferguson wears Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacesuit.Boeing
Beyond NASA’s current astronauts who will fly on the first crewed Boeing and SpaceX missions, there’s retired astronaut Chris Ferguson.
Ferguson is now the first “corporate astronaut” as a third crewmember on Boeing’s first crewed test flight, according to the Washington Post.
Ferguson, who’s now on Boeing’s payroll, was a logical pick, since he’s worked on the CST-100 Starliner program for many years, and was also a space shuttle commander, space shuttle pilot, and Navy test pilot.
He’s is part of the mission that will fly the first crewed Boeing test flight, currently scheduled for mid-2019.
Nicole “Duke” Mann
NASA astronaut Nicole Mann in August 2018.NASA
Mann is part of the mission that will fly the first crewed Boeing test flight, currently scheduled for mid-2019.
Robert Behnken
NASA astronaut Robert “Bob” Behnken aboard the International Space Station in February 2010.NASA
Selected as an astronaut in 2000, Behnken has flown twice into orbit on NASA’s space shuttle Endeavour. He’s also an experienced Air Force test pilot with more than 1,500 hours of flight on 25 different aircraft.
Like Williams, he’s worked hand-in-hand with Boeing, SpaceX, and NASA to improve the Crew Dragon and CST-100 Starliner spaceships, so he’s well-equipped to fly them.
He also understands the risks of spaceflight first-hand: Behnken was waiting near the runway on which space shuttle Columbia was supposed to landin 2003. That’s when he heard that the ship had broken apart during atmospheric reentry, killing its seven-member crew.
Behnken is part of the mission that will fly the first crewed SpaceX test flight, currently scheduled for February 2019.
Douglas Hurley
NASA astronaut Doug Hurley, who piloted the final space shuttle mission, in a T-38 trainer jet in March 2011NASA
Hurley is also a two-time space shuttle pilot and was also selected in 2000 by NASA.
Like Behnken and Boe, Hurley was a test pilot in the military. He logged more than 5,000 hours in 25 different aircraft for the Navy. Hurley has spent the past three years working on the Commercial Crew Program to provide ideas, hands-on testing, and feedback — so he’s very knowledgeable of both spacecraft.
Hurley is part of the mission that will fly the first crewed SpaceX test flight, currently scheduled for February 2019.
Sunita “Suni” Williams
NASA astronaut and Commercial Crew member Sunita Williams tests mock-ups of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spaceship and spacesuit in April 2018.SpaceX
Williams grew up in Massachusetts, is a Navy veteran, and has been a NASA astronaut since 1998. She has flown inside three different spaceships on two missions, served as commander of the International Space Station, lived in orbit for 322 days, and, in her previous career, piloted 30 different types of aircraft.
She’s also been providing crucial feedback to Boeing and SpaceX as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.
“Five years ago, this would have been like, ‘No way, what are we doing asking commercial providers to be able to do this?'” Williams previously told Business Insider. “Now it feels like a natural progression for space travel.”
Williams is part of the mission that will fly the second crewed Boeing test flight, which will stay at the International Space Station, possibly in 2019.
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Cassada, who has yet to fly to space, is part of the mission that will fly the second crewed Boeing test flight, which will stay at the International Space Station, possibly in 2019.
Victor Glover
NASA astronaut Victor J. Glover.NASA
Glover was selected by NASA as an astronaut in 2013 and completed his training two years later. Though he has yet to visit space, he’s no rookie to flying: He remains a test pilot and commander in the US Navy. Glover has flown more than 2,000 hours in 40 aircraft, has made 400 landings on an aircraft carrier, and completed 24 combat missions.
“This is a test pilot’s dream,” Glover said Friday.
Glover is part of the mission that will fly the second crewed SpaceX test flight, which will stay at the International Space Station, possibly in 2019.
Mike Hopkins
NASA astronaut Mike Hopkins in October 2010.NASA
Hopkins is part of the mission that will fly the second crewed SpaceX test flight, which will stay at the International Space Station, possibly in 2019.
