HOUSTON – On Friday, NASA will announce which astronauts will fly on the first commercial crew flights.
When is the announcement?
The announcement is at 10 a.m. Friday at the Johnson Space Center.
What will be announced?
Eight NASA astronauts will be assigned to initial test flights and the following missions to the International Space station. In 2015, NASA Astronauts Robert Behnken, Eric Boe, Douglas Hurley and Sunita Williams were assigned to the commercial crew program to provide the astronaut’s perspective during commercial crew development. But a NASA spokesman says that does not guarantee those four astronauts will be assigned to an actual mission. A total of eight NASA astronauts, as well as a Boeing astronaut, will be assigned to missions Friday.
What commercial spacecraft will fly?
They will fly the Boeing Starliner and the SpaceX Crew Dragon.
Why is this a big deal?
These astronauts will be the first to launch on vehicles owned by commercial companies.
"These are commercially provided vehicles. And NASA will be the anchor tenant,” said scientist in residence John Charles at Space Center Houston.
He was a NASA scientist for 33 years.
“It's very exciting getting more people in space. More experience in space. If more people can experience space, more people will understand what it is and what it can do for us in the future," he said.
What’s next?
The crews will begin training to get ready for their launch. That will include training at the Johnson Space Center in Houston as well as at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The first flights were scheduled for 2018. However, Boeing announced Wednesday a delay for its first crewed launch.