Boeing Sending Last Shuttle Commander Chris Ferguson Back to Space
Chris Ferguson, who led the final space shuttle mission, will make his fourth spaceflight when he and NASA astronauts Eric Boe and Nicole Mann take the new Boeing [NYSE: BA] CST-100 Starliner commercial crew spacecraft to the International Space Station. The three pioneers will help restore American access to space from U.S. soil, a capability that ended when the shuttle was retired seven years ago. Mann will also make history as the first female astronaut on the inaugural crewed flight of a new U.S. spacecraft. “We’re immensely proud of Chris and thrilled he will be part of first Starliner crew,” Leanne Caret, president and CEO of Boeing Defense, Space & Security, said. “We congratulate all the astronauts chosen to fly to the space station on commercially developed systems. We’re taking important steps for this nation and toward development of a thriving commercial space ecosystem.” Ferguson has been an integral part of the Starliner program since retiring from NASA and