Euclid-Born Astronaut Part Of First Commercial Space Mission

EUCLID, OH — NASA has selected the first U.S. astronauts that will take part in commercial space missions and test flights. Among the chosen crew is Sunita Williams, who was born in Euclid, Ohio before moving to Needham, Massachusetts.

Williams will join eight other astronauts on commercially-made spacecraft commuting between Earth and the International Space Station. This will be the first time shuttle launches have been held on U.S. soil since 2011.

“Today, our country’s dreams of greater achievements in space are within our grasp,” said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine in a statement. “This accomplished group of American astronauts, flying on new spacecraft developed by our commercial partners Boeing and SpaceX, will launch a new era of human spaceflight. Today’s announcement advances our great American vision and strengthens the nation’s leadership in space.”

Williams will be part of the Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner's first mission. She will be joined by John Cassada, a former Navy commander and test pilot from Minnesota. This will be Cassada's first space flight.

By contrast, Williams looks like a wily veteran of off-world travel. She also came to NASA from the Navy, where she was a test pilot. She rose to the rank of captain before retiring. She was selected to become an astronaut in 1998. Since then, she has spent 322 days aboard the International Space Station, taking part in Expeditions 14/15 and Expeditions 32/33. She has also performed seven spacewalks.

“The men and women we assign to these first flights are at the forefront of this exciting new time for human spaceflight,” said Mark Geyer, director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. “It will be thrilling to see our astronauts lift off from American soil, and we can’t wait to see them aboard the International Space Station.”

Other astronauts will be flying missions on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon. Some members of the nine designated astronauts will strictly be taking part in test flights of the Boeing and SpaceX shuttles.

Additional crew members will be added to the flights by SpaceX and Boeing at a later date, NASA said.

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Photo caption: NASA introduced to the world on Aug. 3, 2018, the first U.S. astronauts who will fly on American-made, commercial spacecraft to and from the International Space Station – an endeavor that will return astronaut launches to U.S. soil for the first time since the space shuttle’s retirement in 2011. The agency assigned nine astronauts to crew the first test flight and mission of both Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner and SpaceX’s Crew Dragon. The astronauts are, from left to right: Sunita Williams, Josh Cassada, Eric Boe, Nicole Mann, Christopher Ferguson, Douglas Hurley, Robert Behnken, Michael Hopkins and Victor Glover.
Credits: NASA