NASA's newest test pilots are veteran astronauts, friends
(SpaceX via AP)CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. โ The two astronauts who will test drive SpaceXโs brand new rocketship are classmates and friends, veteran spacefliers married to veteran spacefliers, and fathers of young sons. Retired Marine Col. Doug Hurley will be in charge of launch and landing, a fitting assignment for the pilot of NASAโs last space shuttle flight. Hurley, 53, and Behnken, 49, are NASAโs first test pilot crew in decades. Crippen and the late John Young rode NASAโs first space shuttle, Columbia, into orbit on April 12, 1981. Hurley and Behnken โ both two-time space shuttle fliers โ were among four astronauts chosen in 2015 for NASAโs commercial crew program.