NASA selects four astronauts to pioneer a new era of commercial spaceflight

Space · Published 8 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: For years, the United States has relied on Russia for space travel. Now, a new group of veteran astronauts is preparing to break that cycle, working with private industry to return American launches to U.S. soil and open low-Earth orbit to the private sector.

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden has named four veteran test pilots and astronauts: Sunita Williams, Douglas Hurley, Eric Boe, and Robert Behnken. These pioneers are tasked with working closely with The Boeing Company and SpaceX to develop crew transportation systems. Their mission is to provide essential services to and from the International Space Station (ISS), marking a major milestone in the Obama Administration's strategy to partner with U.S. industry. These individuals will collaborate with private firms to refine their specific crew transportation services.

This shift toward commercial partnerships aims to achieve several strategic goals: creating high-paying American jobs, restoring a U.S. piloted launch capability, and reducing the nation's sole reliance on Russia for space travel. By utilizing commercial carriers, NASA intends to move closer to the ambitious goal of sending humans to Mars, a mission target set for the 2030s. This transition represents a new era in human spaceflight, moving from government-only operations to a collaborative ecosystem with the private sector. This initiative is a key component of the Obama Administration's broader vision for space exploration. Such partnerships help advance the long-term objective of sending people further into the solar system.

The program involves rigorous testing of next-generation spacecraft. Specifically, astronauts will support the development and certification of Boeing's CST-100 Starliner and SpaceX's Crew Dragon. While the initial focus is on low-Earth orbit transportation, these commercial efforts are designed to serve as a foundation for deeper space exploration. The success of these crewed test flights is considered critical to establishing a sustainable, commercially-driven infrastructure for future human missions into the solar system. The mission profiles include two separate flights for both the SpaceX and Boeing vehicles. These upcoming launches are intended to take place throughout 2019 following successful uncrewed tests.

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