Petaluma Astronaut On NASA Crew For First Commercial Test Flights

PETALUMA, CA — NASA has selected the first U.S. astronauts who will take part in commercial space missions and test flights. Among the chosen crew is Nicole Aunapu Mann, who was born in Petaluma, California and is a 1995 graduate of Rancho Cotate High School in nearby Rohnert Park.

Mann will join eight other astronauts on American-made commercial spacecraft commuting between Earth and the International Space Station. This will be the first time shuttle launches have been held on U.S. soil since 2011.

"Today, our country's dreams of greater achievements in space are within our grasp," said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine in a statement. "This accomplished group of American astronauts, flying on new spacecraft developed by our commercial partners Boeing and SpaceX, will launch a new era of human spaceflight. Today's announcement advances our great American vision and strengthens the nation's leadership in space."

Mann will be part of the test flight crew aboard Boeing's CST-100 Starliner. The California native is a lieutenant colonel in the Marine Corps. She is an F/A-18 test pilot with more than 2,500 flight hours in more than 25 aircraft.

She earned a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland, in 1999. To further her education, Mann returned to her home state of California and earned a master's degree in mechanical engineering with a specialty in fluid mechanics from Stanford University in 2001.

Mann currently lives in Houston, Texas with her husband, Travis Mann, and their son.

She was selected as an astronaut in 2013. This will be her first trip to space.

"The men and women we assign to these first flights are at the forefront of this exciting new time for human spaceflight," said Mark Geyer, director of NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. "It will be thrilling to see our astronauts lift off from American soil, and we can't wait to see them aboard the International Space Station."

Other astronauts will be flying missions on SpaceX's Crew Dragon. Some members of the nine designated astronauts will strictly be taking part in test flights of the Boeing and SpaceX shuttles.

Additional crew members will be added to the flights by SpaceX and Boeing at a later date, NASA said.

Photos via NASA