NASA Astronaut Jeanette Epps Overcomes Delays to Fly to International Space Station
NASA astronaut Jeanette Epps has had a remarkable journey to space, facing unexpected delays and setbacks along the way. After waiting an extra six years, Epps is finally set to fly to the International Space Station (ISS) on the SpaceX Crew-8 mission for NASA. This mission will mark the second long-duration mission by a Black woman on the orbiting complex. However, Epps was originally scheduled to reach the ISS in June 2018, but her timeline was delayed twice due to reassignments from Russia’s Soyuz and Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft.
Despite the challenges she faced, Epps remained confident that she would eventually have the opportunity to fly. During a livestreamed press conference held at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Epps expressed her determination and shared that focusing on training helped her stay positive throughout the years. She also mentioned that NASA moved her to the SpaceX spacecraft to gain flight experience sooner and prepare for future missions.
Epps, an engineer by training and former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) technical intelligence officer, was selected as an astronaut candidate by NASA in July 2009. Alongside the Canadian Space Agency’s Jeremy Hansen, Epps is one of the few remaining unflown astronauts from that selection group. However, Hansen is assigned to fly on NASA’s Artemis 2 moon mission in 2025. The Canadian Space Agency only flies astronauts to the ISS approximately every six years due to its smaller contribution to the station.
In 2017, Epps received a flight assignment for Expeditions 56 and 57, with liftoff scheduled aboard a Soyuz MS-09 in June 2018. This wait was considered normal for a NASA astronaut given the limited availability of spacecraft seats at the time. However, in January 2018, NASA announced that Epps would be removed from the Soyuz MS-09 mission, and Serena Auñón-Chancellor would take her place. The agency did not provide specific reasons for the last-minute switch.
Epps addressed the situation for the first time during an interview at the Tech Open Air festival in Berlin in June 2018. She emphasized the importance of focusing on the mission and performance rather than concerns about sexism and racism. Epps acknowledged that she did not have all the details about the decision to remove her from the Soyuz crew, but she mentioned that her Russian colleagues expressed safety concerns due to the late reassignment.
Following her removal from the Soyuz mission, NASA assigned Epps to Boeing’s Starliner in August 2020. However, technical issues and delays with Starliner pushed back its crewed debut. As a result, Epps was reassigned to SpaceX Crew-8, which is scheduled for August 2023. This mission will be the eighth operational astronaut mission to the ISS by SpaceX.
When Epps finally reaches space, she will become at least the 19th Black astronaut to have done so, according to NASA statistics from February 2023. This number includes more than 600 individuals who have flown to space worldwide. It is worth noting that the criteria for defining space may vary, and in August 2023, Virgin Galactic launched two Black individuals to suborbital space just below the internationally recognized boundary of space.
The journey of Black astronauts has been marked by institutional racism and delayed opportunities. Charlie Bolden, a former NASA administrator and Black astronaut, has spoken out about the challenges faced by Black astronauts in reaching orbit. The contributions of Black technicians on the ground, such as those depicted in the movie “Hidden Figures,” were often overlooked in the early days of human spaceflight.
The first Black astronaut assigned to a spaceflight was Robert H. Lawrence, who tragically died in an aircraft accident in 1967 before the planned Manned Orbiting Laboratory space station could be launched. Ed Dwight, a Black test pilot, participated in military space-related activities in the 1960s but did not make it to space due to complex reasons.
The first Black astronaut to orbit the Earth was Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez, who visited the Soviet Salyut-6 space station in 1980. NASA recruited its first Black and female astronauts in 1978. Guion S. Bluford became NASA’s first flown Black astronaut in 1983, followed by Mae Jemison as the first flown Black female astronaut in 1992. Other milestones include Bernard Harris, who became the first to spacewalk in 1995, Victor Glover as the first Black long-duration astronaut in 2020-21, and Jessica Watkins as the first Black female long-duration flyer in 2022.
Jeanette Epps’ journey to space showcases her resilience and determination in overcoming delays and setbacks. Her upcoming mission on SpaceX Crew-8 will not only contribute to scientific research on the ISS but also inspire future generations, especially those from under