Boeing Looks For Non-NASA Pilots For Taking CST-100 To ISS

When I was a kid, I always wanted to be an astronaut. When I was young though I knew to be an astronaut meant that you had to be a military person generally and I'm not cut out to do what other people want me to at all times. If you always wanted to be an astronaut, Boeing is going outside NASA to put a couple of its employees behind the controls of the CST-100 capsule on a test flight of the craft in 2015.

I mentioned a while back that the CST-100 would be shot into orbit attached to the tip of the Atlas 5 rocket. Boeing has now stated that it is looking for two pilots that work within the company right now to fly one of the missions. The first flight will put the capsule into orbit and the second will be a part-way to orbit trip to practice an aborted mission.

These first two missions will be unmanned with the third seeing the pilots go all the way to the ISS where they will dock with the space station. The CST-100 capsule is expected to start commercial space service in 2016. The selection process for the two pilots at Boeing is already underway. Boeing officials want the first pilot on board early so the pilot can work with the design process team.

[via BBC]