July 10, 2015

Another huge step forward: NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden announced on his blog that the space agency has now selected the astronauts who will train to fly to space on commercial space vehicles such as SpaceX’s Dragon.

Today, a half century after we received those first pictures of the Red Planet, we’re able to make a significant announcement that will further our nation’s Journey to Mars.

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.  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.

The announced astronauts are:

  • Robert Behken
  • Sunita Williams
  • Eric Boe
  • Douglas Hurley