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NASA Announces Astronauts for First Commercial Crew Missions
Today, NASA announced the astronaut selection for the first Commercial Crew flights, which will finally restore the ability to launch astronauts from American soil. Boeing's first test flight, which is scheduled for mid-2019, will have Eric Boe, social media-savvy astronaut Chris Ferguson and rookie Nicole Aunapu Mann on board. SpaceX's inaugural Crew Dragon voyage, targeting April 2019, will have Victor Glover and Mike Hopkins as crew.
NASA also announced the astronauts for the first missions, which will be long-duration and dock with the International Space Station. Suni Williams, who is best known for running the Boston Marathon on an ISS treadmill, will be joined by rookie astronaut Josh Cassada. And finally, the second SpaceX demo flight will be crewed by Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley.
Source: Engadget
NASA Names First Astronauts to Fly on American Spacecraft; SpaceX Poised to Fly Crew Before Boeing
NASA has selected nine American astronauts who will fly on SpaceX's Crew Dragon and Boeing's CST-100 Starliner:
NASA introduced to the world on Friday the first U.S. astronauts who will fly on American-made, commercial spacecraft to and from the International Space Station – an endeavor that will return astronaut launches to U.S. soil for the first time since the space shuttle's retirement in 2011.
"Today, our country's dreams of greater achievements in space are within our grasp," said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine. "This accomplished group of American astronauts, flying on new spacecraft developed by our commercial partners Boeing and SpaceX, will launch a new era of human spaceflight. Today's announcement advances our great American vision and strengthens the nation's leadership in space."
For now, SpaceX's crewed test flight is scheduled for April 2019, while Boeing's is scheduled for "mid-2019". The announcement comes days after an issue with Boeing's pad abort thrusters was revealed.
Previously: Safety Panel Raises Concerns Over SpaceX and Boeing Commercial Crew Plans
SpaceX and Boeing Not Ready to Transport Astronauts to the International Space Station
Related: Boeing CEO Says His Company Will Carry Humans to Mars Before SpaceX
(Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 04 2018, @08:00PM (1 child)
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/first-astronauts-introduced [history.com]
These guys might be the first astronauts to fly on a commercial +/- American spacecraft. Someone more familiar with the European crafts might know their history.
(Score: 2) by maxwell demon on Sunday August 05 2018, @12:44PM
Well, great news for conspiracy theorists: They can point at that headline to “prove” that until now no astronaut ever flew on an American spacecraft. Especially not to the moon. ;-)
The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Hartree on Saturday August 04 2018, @09:33PM (7 children)
I met Mike Hopkins when I was living in Albuquerque, NM. His first duty station was Kirtland AFB, and my roommate at the time who was also stationed there knew him from ROTC at the University of Illinois.
This was long before he became an astronaut, but everyone who knew him figured he was going places. Very impressive man.
(Score: -1, Flamebait) by Ethanol-fueled on Saturday August 04 2018, @10:45PM (6 children)
I met Josh Cassada while living in L.A. He was a member of the Grape Street Crips back then and was dealing drugs, hustling, and stealing before he was finally arrested. When a NASA employee saw in the news his mugshot along with his ability to smoke a gram of crack and jump every fence in a single city block, they knew at once that he was the right diversity success story to handle space due to his demonstrated ability to operate his body under extreme stresses.
(Score: 2) by Hartree on Sunday August 05 2018, @01:03AM
Hopkins was a pretty cool guy. Forgive me for being pumped that someone I knew made really really good.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Sunday August 05 2018, @01:09AM (4 children)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josh_A._Cassada [wikipedia.org]
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 4, Funny) by Ethanol-fueled on Sunday August 05 2018, @01:15AM (2 children)
I am of course working for Boston Dynamics. When I was on-loan to NASA to help vet him the issue of his hard drug use came up, and that was the major deal-breaker. He responded deftly, stating
We then decided that this guy needed to go out into space. If he's out of his mind, then being in space makes no difference to him. It was then that we knew he was the right man for the job.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Sunday August 05 2018, @01:28AM (1 child)
The CST-100 Starliner astronauts could be considered human sacrifices.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by MostCynical on Sunday August 05 2018, @01:51AM
*all* astronauts should be considered to be (potential) sacrifices.
For a while, humans managed to get to space and back wiout too many deaths, but even so, the long term effects are kife-limiting.
https://www.nasa.gov/hrp/bodyinspace [nasa.gov]
https://www.theverge.com/2016/3/1/11138102/scott-kelly-year-in-space-health-effects-return-to-earth [theverge.com]
"I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
(Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Sunday August 05 2018, @11:13PM
He was born in 1973! That makes him waaay too young to be an astronaut.
Oh, wait. I'm sad now.
(Score: 0, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 04 2018, @09:50PM (6 children)
Why don't you use your cellphone to look up what happened in space in the 60s and 70s. Hint: plenty of astronauts flew on American spacecraft. Just because something happened back when there were only two genders doesn't mean it didn't happen.
(Score: 2) by archfeld on Saturday August 04 2018, @10:12PM (4 children)
Those were NOT commercial space flights by any means, but I totally understand your view point. Millennials have a very short attention span and no sense of history, so if it didn't happen in the last 15 minutes I didn't happen, and they 'discover' new things every day, like the great ball of fire in the sky that rises every morning. I wonder if there is an app for that ?
For the NSA : Explosives, guns, assassination, conspiracy, primers, detonators, initiators, main charge, nuclear charge
(Score: 3, Funny) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Sunday August 05 2018, @12:23AM
I haven't actually checked but I expect Sky & Telescope publishes one.
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
(Score: 3, Funny) by MostCynical on Sunday August 05 2018, @01:53AM (1 child)
Instagram post or it didn't happen.
"I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
(Score: 2) by archfeld on Sunday August 05 2018, @02:47AM
Sorry I was mad busy taking selfies and snapping shots of my lunch to worry about cray cray triv things like the moonshot :)
If I was a true millennial I could have used emoticons to convey the above, but us old folks have to contend with ye olde Angliss.
For the NSA : Explosives, guns, assassination, conspiracy, primers, detonators, initiators, main charge, nuclear charge
(Score: 2) by isostatic on Sunday August 05 2018, @07:16PM
Sure, but the headline is "NASA Names First Astronauts to Fly on American Spacecraft". Not "Commercial American spacecraft that are going into orbit" (specify orbit as Mike Melvill and Brian Binnie both got their wings on the commercial Spaceship One) back when today's tweeters (or whatever) were still in nappys.
(Score: 0, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 04 2018, @10:22PM
Pedantic old fuck