Training Heats Up for Commercial Crew

2018-12-05

The Commercial Crew Program (CCP) is setting its sights on the International Space Station. NASA Astronauts Nicole Mann, Eric Boe, Josh Cassada, Suni Williams, Victor Glover, Mike Hopkins, Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley have begun training here at NASA’s Johnson Space Center for their 2019 missions, along with Boeing astronaut Chris Ferguson. Ferguson, Mann and Boe will crew Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner for its Crewed Flight Test, while Hurley and Behnken are slated for SpaceX Demo-2, the first crewed flight of the SpaceX Crew Dragon. Cassada and Williams will crew the Starliner’s second flight, and Glover and Hopkins will crew the Crew Dragon’s second flight.

Commercial crew restores human access to space from American soil while also encouraging the growth of the private spaceflight industry. Commercial investment in low-Earth orbit is a critical component of America’s larger aerospace architecture, allowing NASA to focus greater time and energy on our return to the Moon. For more on CCP, keep an eye out for Roundup Reads and the CCP blog.

*NASA astronaut Josh Cassada trains at the Boeing facility. Image Credit: NASA/Robert Markowitz*

*Boeing astronaut Chris Ferguson takes part in water survival training at the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory. Image Credit: NASA/Norah Moran*

*Williams and Cassada suit up for a T-38 flight. Image Credit: NASA/Josh Valcarcel*

*Williams and Cassada perform pre-flight checkouts before their T-38 flight. Image Credit: NASA/Josh Valcarcel*

*Williams weightlifts using the Advanced Resistive Exercise Device. Image Credit: NASA/Robert Markowitz*

*Cassanda shows his enthusiasm for spacewalk training. Image Credit: NASA/David DeHoyos*

Morgan McAllister

NASA Johnson Space Center

Suni Williams undergoes spacewalk training in the Virtual Reality Laboratory at NASA's Johnson Space Center. Image Credit: NASA/James Blair