NASA on Tuesday announced that it has assigned astronaut Dr. Jeanette Epps to the Starliner-1 mission, the first operational crewed flight of Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS).
Epps will join NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Josh Cassada for a six-month expedition planned for a launch in 2021 to the orbiting space laboratory.
The Boeing Design Center in Huntsville provided all the structural design for the Starliner. Additionally, Boeing’s Phantom Works division, which has an operation in the Rocket City, provided the power systems for the capsule.
Boeing astronaut Chris Ferguson stated, “The Boeing team is honored that NASA assigned astronaut Dr. Jeanette Epps to the crew of Starliner-1, Boeing’s first operational mission to the International Space Station.”
“Jeanette will be a part of an important and history-making flight, and we’re excited to welcome her to the Starliner team. Jeanette’s crewmates, Suni Williams and Josh Cassada, are regulars at our Florida facilities and are training in Houston. We’re looking forward to getting to know her just as well as we progress toward this flight,” Ferguson added.
Starliner’s first uncrewed Orbital Flight Test mission ended prematurely last year as a result of a timing malfunction which led to the spacecraft missing the opportunity to set the proper course for connecting with the ISS.
However, there were still significant positive aspects of that test flight. Valuable data was collected, and the Alabama-built United Launch Alliance rocket that powered the spacecraft was deemed to have operated perfectly. Further, when the Starliner returned early to White Sands, New Mexico, the Huntsville-designed spacecraft became the first American orbital space capsule to land on U.S. soil rather than in a body of water.
RELATED: Watch: Ride inside Boeing’s Starliner on its historic journey to space and back
Boeing and NASA earlier this year announced their commitment to a second Orbital Flight Test, which should then be followed by a crewed flight test to the ISS with one Boeing astronaut and two NASA astronauts. After that and NASA certification, the groundbreaking Starliner-1 flight will be set to take place.
Sean Ross is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn
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