NASA has selected four astronauts to train for upcoming commercial spaceflights and to help expand low‑Earth orbit transportation into the private sector.
The agency named veteran astronauts and test pilots Robert Behnken, Eric Boe, Douglas Hurley and Sunita Williams to work closely with The Boeing Company and SpaceX. These crew members will support development of commercial crew transportation systems and help provide crewed transportation services to and from the International Space Station.
Assigned as commercial crew astronauts, they will collaborate with company teams to review designs, operations and training as Boeing and SpaceX finalize their crew vehicles and operational plans. Their involvement will focus on the Boeing CST-100 and the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft, helping prepare those systems for crewed flight tests and certification activities under NASA contracts.
Under the Commercial Crew Transportation Capability agreements, both Boeing and SpaceX are required to conduct at least one crewed flight test that includes a NASA astronaut on board. Those tests will demonstrate the integrated rocket-and-spacecraft systems can launch, operate in orbit, dock with the International Space Station, and return safely, while validating that all systems perform as expected.