NASA Names First Astronauts for Commercial Space Flights

NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden announced on Thursday the selection of the first four astronauts for commercial space flights: Col. Robert Behnken, Col. Eric Boe and Col. Douglas Hurley from the Air Force and Cpt. Sunita Williams from the Navy. 

“I am pleased to announce that 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,” Bolden announced on Thursday. “ 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 noted he expected these astronauts to be on commercial flights by 2017 and stressed a manned flight to Mars is on tap in the 2030s. 

“We are on a journey to Mars, and in order to meet our goals for sending American astronauts to the red planet in the 2030s we need to be able to focus both on deep space and the groundbreaking work being done on the International Space Station (ISS),” Bolden noted. “Our commercial crew initiative makes these parallel endeavors possible.  By working with American companies to get our astronauts to the ISS, NASA is able to focus on game-changing technologies, the Orion spacecraft and the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket that are geared toward getting astronauts to deep space.

“Furthermore, there are real economic benefits to bolstering America’s emerging commercial space market,” Bolden added. “We have over 350 American companies working across 36 states on our commercial crew initiative.  Every dollar we invest in commercial crew is a dollar we invest in ourselves, rather than in the Russian economy. Our plans to return launches to American soil also make fiscal sense. It currently costs $76 million per astronaut to fly on a Russian spacecraft.  On an American-owned spacecraft, the average cost will be $58 million per astronaut.  What’s more, each mission will carry four crewmembers instead of three, along with 100 kg of materials to support the important science and research we conduct on the ISS.

“For these reasons, our commercial crew program is a worthy successor to the incredible 30-year run of the Space Shuttle Program,” Bolden continued. “The decision that President Bush made in 2004 to retire the Space Shuttle was not an easy decision, but it was the right decision.  As you’ll recall, it was the recommendation of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board, and endorsed by many people in the space community – including yours truly.

“I cannot think of a better way to continue our celebration of independence this July than to mark this milestone as we look to reassert our space travel independence and end our sole reliance on Russia to get American astronauts to the International Space Station,” Bolden added.