NASA Full Speed Ahead on Commercial Crew Program

Days after the loss of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, NASA selects a team of four astronauts to train and prepare for commercial spaceflights. The aim of this commercial crew program is to bring the launching of NASA’s manned missions back to an American soil through the partnerships of U.S based industry.

“I am pleased to announce four American space pioneers have been selected to be the first astronauts to train to fly to space on commercial crew vehicles, all part of our ambitious plan to return space launches to U.S. soil, create good-paying American jobs and advance our goal of sending humans farther into the solar system than ever before,” said Charles Bolden, NASA Administrator. “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.”

These veteran astronauts, Bob Behnken, Eric Boe, Doug Hurley, and Suni Williams, will be working with SpaceX and Boeing to develop their respective Crew Dragon and CST-100 spacecraft systems. The team will also be manning the testing and eventual first trips to the International Space Station (ISS). The team will focus on flight tests, certification, and operational strategies of the equipment. Some of the equipment that will be tested include the fully-integrated rocket, launch systems, orbital maneuvering, docking, landing, and other system validations.

Once the testing and certification of the flights are completed, NASA will start a two to six crew rotation for the commercial crew program. Each mission will then transport the four man crew and at least 220.5 lbs of cargo onto the ISS.

“Congratulations to Bob, Doug, Eric and Suni on being the first group of astronauts selected for flight training as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program,” said Gwynne Shotwell, President and COO of SpaceX. “We look forward to working with them even more closely as we prepare for the first human missions to the space station on Crew Dragon. Human spaceflight is why SpaceX was founded, and we look forward to supporting our nation’s exploration efforts by launching astronauts from America again.”

“Their selection allows NASA to move forward with the training necessary to deliver on President Obama’s ambitious plan for returning the launch of U.S. astronauts to U.S. soil, while creating good-paying American jobs, and moving us closer to the President’s goal of sending astronauts to Mars in the 2030s,” said John Holdren, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.

Is NASA Moving too Fast? Unlikely.

The cause of the loss of the Falcon 9 rocket is still unknown. However, preliminary information points towards an over-pressurization of the liquid oxygen tanks. Fortunately, the Dragon escape system should be able to protect the crew if a similar disaster were to be repeated. However, due to protocol the crew will not launch on Falcon 9 until the cause is determined and fixed.

This begs the question: Why announce this now? Even though protocol and history will block the use of Falcon 9 until it is deemed safe, announcing a crew so close after the failure will raise eyebrows. People will naturally think that NASA is moving too fast.

Perhaps NASA is hoping this announcement will be seen as a vote of confidence for SpaceX or as a ‘we don’t put our astronaut training on hold for anything, they must always be ready’ mentality.  Or perhaps this announcement is meant as a fire under SpaceX to say “we will not hold back our schedule based on your failure, you are either ready by launch date or we will fly with Boeing.”

The need for NASA to put training at the forefront of the announcement is noted by Brian Kelly, director of Flight Operations at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. “This is a new and exciting era in the history of U.S. human spaceflight,” he said. “These four individuals, like so many at NASA and the Flight Operations Directorate, have dedicated their careers to becoming experts in the field of aeronautics and furthering human space exploration. The selection of these experienced astronauts who are eligible to fly aboard the test flights for the next generation of U.S. spacecraft to the ISS and low-Earth orbit ensures that the crews will be well-prepared and thoroughly trained for their missions."

At the end of the day, none of the commercial-manned flights to the ISS will be ready until a docking adapter is installed. The first adapter was lost in the aforementioned SpaceX failure, so another must take its place. Otherwise, NASA will be forced to continue to use the Russian Soyuze. That would certainly be a PR issue.

NASA Crew Biographies

Biographical information on the NASA Commercial Crew below is courtesy of NASA.gov.

Robert Behnken is a U.S. Air Force colonel from St. Anne, Missouri, who accumulated more than 1,300 flight hours in more than 25 different aircraft types. NASA selected Behnken as an astronaut in July 2000, and he reported for training in August 2000.

Behnken flew on space shuttle missions STS-123 in March 2008 and STS-130 in February 2010, logging more than 29 days in space, including more than 37 hours during six spacewalks. He earned bachelor’s degrees in physics and mechanical engineering from Washington University in 1992, and a master’s and doctoral degree in mechanical engineering from the California Institute of Technology in 1993 and 1997, respectively. Behnken has served as chief of the Astronaut Office since 2012. U.S. Navy Capt. Chris Cassidy is replacing Behnken as chief of the Astronaut Office.

Eric Boe, also a U.S. Air Force colonel, was born in Miami and grew up in Atlanta. As an Air Force pilot, he flew more than 5,000 hours in more than 45 different aircraft before NASA selected him as an astronaut in July 2000. A veteran of two spaceflights, STS-126 in November 2008 and STS-133 in February of 2011, Boe has spent more than 28 days in space.

While in the Astronaut Office, Boe’s technical assignments included serving as the NASA director of operations at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia, and as the deputy chief of the Astronaut Office. He earned a Bachelor of Science in astronautical engineering from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1987 and a Master of Science in electrical engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1997.

Douglas Hurley, a retired U.S. Marine colonel, was born in Endicott, New York, and considers Apalachin, New York, his hometown. Hurley retired from the military in 2012 after more than 24 years of service as a Naval aviator who flew more than 4,500 hours in more than 25 different types of aircraft. He also was selected as an astronaut in 2000, and spent more than 28 days in space, flying as the pilot of STS-127 in July 2009 and STS-135 in July 2011, the last flight of the Space Shuttle Program.

Hurley served in several technical assignments within the Astronaut Office including as the NASA director of operations at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia. His most recent assignment was as the assistant director of New Programs for the Flight Operations Directorate at Johnson. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science in civil engineering from Tulane University in New Orleans in 1988. 

Sunita Williams, a U.S. Navy captain, was born in Euclid, Ohio, and considers Needham, Massachusetts, her hometown. Williams received her commission in the Navy in May 1987 and became a helicopter pilot, logging more than 3,000 flight hours in more than 30 different aircraft. NASA chose Williams for the astronaut program in 1998.

A veteran of two long-duration spaceflights, Williams spent a total of 322 days in space and currently holds the record for total cumulative spacewalk time by a female astronaut (50 hours and 40 minutes). She now ranks sixth on the all-time U.S. endurance list, and second all-time for a female astronaut. She graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1987 with a bachelor of science in physical science, and from the Florida Institute of Technology in 1995 with a master of science in engineering management.