NASA picks 4 astronauts to fly 1st commercial space missions
Jul 9, 2015, 11:37 AM
In this Oct. 22, 2007 photo provided by NASA, astronaut Robert Behnken poses for a photo. Behnken is one of four veteran astronauts selected to fly the first commercial space missions, NASA announced, Thursday, July 9, 2015. (NASA via AP)
(NASA via AP)
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA has selected four veteran astronauts to lead the way back into orbit from U.S. soil.
On Thursday, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden named the four who will fly on capsules built by private companies — SpaceX and Boeing. Each astronaut has test pilot experience and has flown twice in space.
The commercial crew astronauts are: Air Force Col. Robert Behnken, until recently head of the astronaut office; Air Force Col. Eric Boe, part of shuttle Discovery’s last crew; retired Marine Col. Douglas Hurley, pilot of the final shuttle crew; and Navy Capt. Sunita Williams, a two-time resident of the International Space Station.
“These distinguished, veteran astronauts are blazing a new trail, a trail that will one day land them in the history books and Americans on the surface of Mars,” Bolden said on his blog.
SpaceX and Boeing are aiming for test flights to the space station by 2017. It will be the first launch of astronauts from Cape Canaveral, Florida, since the space shuttles retired in 2011.
In the meantime, NASA has been paying Russia tens of millions of dollars per ride on Soyuz spacecraft to ferry astronauts; the latest tab is $76 million.
Bolden noted that the average cost on an American-owned spacecraft will be $58 million per astronaut, and each mission will carry a crew of four versus three, in addition to science experiments.
The four — who will work closely with the companies to develop their spacecraft — range in age from 44 to 50, and have been astronauts for at least 15 years. Each attended test pilot school; Williams specializes in helicopters.
NASA said the four were chosen for their spaceflight experience. They have a combined total of more than 400 days in space, thanks largely to Williams’ two station stints, and more than 85 hours of spacewalking time. Williams — the world record-holder for most spacewalking time by a woman — most recently lived on the orbiting lab in 2012.
NASA’s contracts with SpaceX and Boeing for crew capsules — totaling nearly $7 billion — require at least one test flight with at least one NASA astronaut on board.
“There are lot more than just the four of us who will be responsible for the safety and the certification of the vehicle,” Hurley said in a NASA interview posted online. A “huge team” will work to make the spacecraft as safe as possible, he noted.
The announcement comes just 1
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
