- SpaceX CEO Elon Musk recently said the duo could fly Crew Dragon to the International Space Station as early as April.
- Here's how the astronauts were selected and what the preparations for their groundbreaking launch look like.
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NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley will be the first to fly SpaceX's Crew Dragon spaceship. Here's how they're preparing.
NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley will be the first to fly SpaceX's Crew Dragon spaceship and probably the first people in history to fly any commercial spaceship.
SpaceX is poised to launch its first astronauts into space this spring: Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley.
Their flight on the company's Crew Dragon spaceship will mark the first time an American spacecraft has carried NASA astronauts since the Space Shuttle program ended in 2011.
Behnken and Hurley's liftoff is expected to launch a new era of US spaceflight, since it will allow NASA to stop relying on Russian launch systems to get astronauts into space. It will probably also make the two astronauts the first to ever fly a commercial spacecraft.
"Bob and I were lucky enough to be selected together," Hurley told The Atlantic in September. "As we get closer to launch, things in the last year have actually been pretty hectic. We've been spending increasing amounts of time in California, because that's where most of the work is being done for Dragon."
In preparation, they've run through emergency procedures, undergone extensive training the Crew Dragon's mechanisms, worn their new spacesuits, and met with SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.
"People to a degree think it's pretty glamorous to be able to go into space, but it's actually like a messy camping trip," Hurley told Reuters in June.
Here's how the astronauts were selected and how they're preparing to fly Crew Dragon to the space station.
In 2018, NASA selected Behnken and Hurley to be the first astronauts to fly SpaceXs new spaceship. Theyll probably be the first to fly any commercial spacecraft.
David J. Phillip/AP
Source: NASA
SpaceX developed its Crew Dragon spaceship as part of NASAs Commercial Crew program, a competition that spurred private companies to develop new astronaut-ready spacecraft.
Kennedy Space Center/SpaceX via Flickr
In total, NASA selected nine astronauts to conduct the first human test flights of the Crew Dragon and its Boeing counterpart, the CST-100 Starliner.
NASA via AP
Source: NASA
Musk expects to send Behnken and Hurley to the International Space Station on Crew Dragons first manned test flight called Demo-2 in April, May, or June.
NASA/Joel Kowsky
Source: Business Insider
That would be the first time an American spacecraft has launched astronauts since 2011, when the space shuttle program ended.
Scott Audette/Reuters
Behnken and Hurley have been working closely with SpaceX on the Crew Dragons development since 2015, so theyre well equipped to fly the spacecraft.
SpaceX
Source: Business Insider
Both men started out as military pilots. Hurley spent 24 years as a test and fighter pilot in the Marine Corps, logging over 5,500 hours in more than 25 different aircraft.
NASA Photo / Houston Chronicle, Smiley N. Pool
Source: Business Insider , NASA
Behnken was an Air Force test pilot. He logged over 1,500 hours flying more than 25 aircraft.
James Blair/NASA
Source: NASA
NASA hired them both as astronauts in 2000, and they became friends when they worked together in the space shuttle program.
NASA
Source: NASA , The Atlantic
Behnken flew on two space shuttle missions, logging over 708 hours in space with a total 37 hours of spacewalks.
NASA
Source: NASA
Hurley piloted two space shuttles, including the very last one, spending a total of over 683 hours in space.
NASA/Jerry Ross
Source: NASA
Since NASAs final space shuttle flight, however, the agency has relied on Russias Soyuz system to ferry its astronauts to and from the International Space Station.
Shamil Zhumatov/Reuters
But Russia has nearly quadrupled its prices over a decade. A single round-trip seat now costs NASA about $85 million.
Shamil Zhumatov/Reuters
Source: CNN
A Crew Dragon seat is expected to cost about $55 million. (Though that doesnt include the $1.2 billion NASA spent on the new spacecrafts development in hope of replacing Soyuz.)
SpaceX
Source: NASA Office of Inspector General
Behnken and Hurleys preparation for the first crewed flight involves intensive training exercises and dry runs of launch day procedures.
NASA/SpaceX
In total, the two astronauts have worked together for two decades. "Bob and I got pretty close. Its just like anything elseyou gravitate to certain people," Hurley told The Atlantic. "We spent a whole bunch of time together, and I got to the point where I thought, Hey, maybe this guy isnt so bad."
SpaceX
Source: The Atlantic
In 2003, when the Space Shuttle Columbia broke apart on re-entry, killing its seven-member crew, Hurley and Behnken were stationed on the runway together.
NASA
Source: The Atlantic
"Ive seen Dougs behavior at my wedding, Ive seen Dougs behavior in an airplane, and weve worked together dealing with the aftermath of the worst thing you can imagine happening in our career field. I can predict his actions. He can predict mine," Behnken said.
NASA
Source: The Atlantic
Behnken, Hurley, and other Commercial Crew astronauts have advised SpaceX as it develops the Crew Dragons inner workings, consulting on the designs of switches and control screens.
NASA
Source: Business Insider
Commercial Crew astronaut Suni Williams previously told Business Insider that she and other astronauts had warned SpaceX and Boeing that early versions of their spaceships showed the crew too little on-screen information.
NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis
Source: Business Insider
"Automation can help us, but then you do have to watch out," Williams said. "We talked to the both partners about: How do I check this? I have a timeline in front of me how do I know these things are happening? Where do I check? Where do I look? Whats my confirming cue?"
SpaceX
Source: Business Insider
"We spend a couple of days every week somewhere in Florida or California, evaluating the final designs. Were not the beneficiaries of a super-formal training program its kind of being developed as we go," Behnken told the Atlantic.
NASA/SpaceX
Source: The Atlantic
Safety is the top priority, so Commercial Crew astronauts have practiced evacuating SpaceXs launch pad in the unlikely event of danger before liftoff.
SpaceX
Source: NASA
That emergency escape requires the astronauts to load into baskets on a zipline-like wire. Once they zip to the ground, an armored vehicle picks them up.
SpaceX
Source: NASA
After that escape exercise, Behnken said: "Each time today when we headed down the crew access arm, I couldnt help but think about what it will be like to strap into Dragon on launch day."
SpaceX
Source: NASA
The astronauts have also run through the process of being retrieved from the Crew Dragon capsule after it splashes down in the ocean.
NASA/Bill Ingalls
Source: NASA
Theyve even done a dress rehearsal with the new SpaceX spacesuits.
NASA/Kim Shiflett
Source: NASA
"NASA has not done a flight-test program for a spaceship since the space shuttle. So youre talking late 70s, early 80s is the last time we kind of did this as an agency," Hurley said in a 2018 NASA video.
NASA/Kim Shiflett
Source: NASA
"Some of it is kind of re-learning those techniques and those things that you need to make sure that youre watching out for," he added.
SpaceX
Source: NASA
Both men have said theyre looking forward to trying out the new spacecraft and getting back up to the space station.
NASA
Source: NASA , Doug Hurley on Twitter
"When you get up there and look back at the Earth, I think there isnt anybody who that hasnt changed," Behnken told The Atlantic. "It really does change you, and hopefully for the better."
NASA
Source: The Atlantic
He added: "People ask us about commercialization of space, and I firmly believe that the more people we can get to go into space, the better off the planets going to be."
Robert Markowitz/NASA/Johnson Space Center
Source: The Atlantic
See Also:
- SpaceX is poised to launch astronauts into space this spring. Here's how SpaceX and Boeing became NASA's best shot at resurrecting American spaceflight.
- Watch live: SpaceX is about to blow up a rocket in a crucial test to show NASA that its spaceship ready to launch astronauts
- New, detailed pictures of planets, moons, and comets are neither photos nor animations they're made using data from 50 years of NASA missions
SEE ALSO: NASA has big plans for the 2020s, from powerful new space telescopes to a hunt for alien life on a moon of Saturn. Here's the timeline.
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