HOUSTON – NASA has assigned the astronauts who will ride the first commercial capsules into orbit next year and bring human launches back to the U.S.
SpaceX and Boeing are shooting for a test flight of their capsules to the International Space Station by the end of this year or early next, with the first crews flying from Cape Canaveral, Florida, by next spring or summer.
Friday morning, NASA held a press conference to introduce the crew members. Watch it on Facebook here or in the video below.
NASA partnered with Boeing and SpaceX to develop the Starliner spacecraft to launch atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket and the Crew Dragon launching atop the Falcon 9 rocket, respectively.
NASA’s Commercial Crew Program is working with the American aerospace industry as companies develop and operate a new generation of spacecraft and launch systems designed to carry crews safely to and from low-Earth orbit.
The Starliner and Crew Dragon will launch American astronauts on American-made spacecraft from American soil to the International Space Station for the first time since NASA retired its Space Shuttle Program in 2011.
Commercial transportation to and from the space station will enable expanded station use, additional research time and broader opportunities of discovery aboard the orbiting laboratory.
The station is critical for NASA to understand and overcome the challenges of long-duration spaceflight, and necessary for a sustainable presence on the Moon and missions deeper into the solar system, including Mars.
Boeing's crew flight test
Eric Boe - Miami, Florida native but grew up in Atlanta, Georgia. He came to NASA from the Air Force and was selected as an astronaut in 2000.
Chris Ferguson - The Philadelphia native has been on several shuttle missions and retired from NASA in 2011. He's been an integral part of Boeing's CST-100 Starliner program
Nicole Aunapu Mann - California native and a Lieutenant Colonel in the Marine Corps. She was selected as an astronaut in 2013 and this will be her first trip to space.
SpaceX's Demo-2
Bob Behnken - A St. Ann, Missouri native and Colonel in the Air Force. He joined the astronaut corps in 2000 and has performed six spacewalks
Doug Hurley - Calls Apalachin, New York his hometown and joined NASA in 2000 and piloted two space shuttle missions, including the final one.
Boeing's first mission
Josh Cassada - The Navy Commander grew up in White Bear Lake, Minnesota, and has logged more than 3,500 flight hours as a test pilot. He was selected as an astronaut in 2013. This will be his first spaceflight.
Suni Williams - Her hometown is Needham, Massachusetts, but was born in Euclid, Ohio. She was a test pilot in the Navy and was selected as an astronaut in 1998. She has spent 322 days in space.
Space X's First Mission
Victor Glover - From Pomona, California, the Navy commander has logged nearly 3,000 hours as a test pilot. He was selected as part of the 2013 astronaut class and this will be his first spaceflight.
Mike Hopkins - He grew up on a farm near Richland, Missouri, and was born in Lebanon, Missouri. The Air Force Colonel was selected as an astronaut in 2009 and has spent 166 days on the International Space Station.
