NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley will be the first to fly SpaceX's Crew Dragon spaceship. Here's how they're preparing.
In 2018, NASA selected Behnken and Hurley to be the first astronauts to fly SpaceX's new spaceship. They'll probably be the first to fly any commercial spacecraft.
SpaceX developed its Crew Dragon spaceship as part of NASA's Commercial Crew program, a competition that spurred private companies to develop new astronaut-ready spacecraft.
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.
Source: NASA
Musk expects to send Behnken and Hurley to the International Space Station on Crew Dragon's first manned test flight — called Demo-2 — in April, May, or June.
Source: Business Insider
That would be the first time an American spacecraft has launched astronauts since 2011, when the space shuttle program ended.
Behnken and Hurley have been working closely with SpaceX on the Crew Dragon's development since 2015, so they're well equipped to fly the spacecraft.
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.
Source: Business Insider, NASA
Behnken was an Air Force test pilot. He logged over 1,500 hours flying more than 25 aircraft.
Source: NASA
NASA hired them both as astronauts in 2000, and they became friends when they worked together in the space shuttle program.
Source: NASA, The Atlantic
Behnken flew on two space shuttle missions, logging over 708 hours in space with a total 37 hours of spacewalks.
Source: NASA
Hurley piloted two space shuttles, including the very last one, spending a total of over 683 hours in space.
Source: NASA
Since NASA's final space shuttle flight, however, the agency has relied on Russia's Soyuz system to ferry its astronauts to and from the International Space Station.
But Russia has nearly quadrupled its prices over a decade. A single round-trip seat now costs NASA about $85 million.
Source: CNN
A Crew Dragon seat is expected to cost about $55 million. (Though that doesn't include the $1.2 billion NASA spent on the new spacecraft's development in hope of replacing Soyuz.)
Source: NASA Office of Inspector General
Behnken and Hurley's preparation for the first crewed flight involves intensive training exercises and dry runs of launch day procedures.
In total, the two astronauts have worked together for two decades. "Bob and I got pretty close. It's just like anything else—you 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 isn't so bad.'"
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.
Source: The Atlantic
"I've seen Doug's behavior at my wedding, I've seen Doug's behavior in an airplane, and we've 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.
Source: The Atlantic
Behnken, Hurley, and other Commercial Crew astronauts have advised SpaceX as it develops the Crew Dragon's inner workings, consulting on the designs of switches and control screens.
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.
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? What's my confirming cue?"
Source: Business Insider
"We spend a couple of days every week somewhere in Florida or California, evaluating the final designs. We're not the beneficiaries of a super-formal training program — it's kind of being developed as we go," Behnken told the Atlantic.
Source: The Atlantic
Safety is the top priority, so Commercial Crew astronauts have practiced evacuating SpaceX's launch pad in the unlikely event of danger before liftoff.
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.
Source: NASA
After that escape exercise, Behnken said: "Each time today when we headed down the crew access arm, I couldn't help but think about what it will be like to strap into Dragon on launch day."
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.
Source: NASA
"NASA has not done a flight-test program for a spaceship since the space shuttle. So you're talking late 70s, early 80s is the last time we kind of did this as an agency," Hurley said in a 2018 NASA video.
Source: NASA
"Some of it is kind of re-learning those techniques and those things that you need to make sure that you're watching out for," he added.
Source: NASA
Both men have said they're looking forward to trying out the new spacecraft and getting back up to the space station.
Source: NASA, Doug Hurley on Twitter
"When you get up there and look back at the Earth, I think there isn't anybody who that hasn't changed," Behnken told The Atlantic. "It really does change you, and hopefully for the better."
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 planet's going to be."
Source: The Atlantic
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