Astronaut Jeanette Epps joins NASA's Boeing Starliner-1 mission

The 49-year old astronaut will join NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Josh Cassada for a six-month expedition to the orbiting space laboratory.

NASA Astronaut Jeanette Epps has joined Boeing Starliner-1 mission, the first operational crewed mission of the Boeing CST-100 Starliner to the International Space Station (ISS) scheduled for launch in 2021.

ICYMI: @Astro_Jeanette will fly on Starliner-1, the first operational @BoeingSpace mission. She will join @Astro_Josh and @Astro_Suni for a six-month expedition to the @Space_Station: https://t.co/bK4nESIiQR #LaunchAmerica pic.twitter.com/u3Z5oHBvrg

— NASA (@NASA) August 25, 2020

The 49-year old astronaut will join NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Josh Cassada for a six-month expedition to the orbiting space laboratory. The spaceflight will be the first for Epps and Cassada and third for Williams, who spent long-duration stays aboard the space station on Expeditions 14/15 and 32/33.

"I'm super excited to join Sunita Williams and Josh Cassada on the first operational Boeing crew mission to the International Space Station. They are both wonderful people to work with, so I'm looking forward to the mission," Epps said in a video message posted on Twitter.

Thank you @JimBridenstine! I'm looking forward to the mission.🚀💫 https://t.co/h2xIJMK1Ef pic.twitter.com/cSRf1SE4cr

— Jeanette J. Epps (@Astro_Jeanette) August 25, 2020

Epps earned her bachelor's degree in physics in 1992 from LeMoyne College, New York, master's degree in science in 1994, and a doctorate in aerospace engineering in 2000 from the University of Maryland, College Park. She was also a NASA Graduate Student Researchers Project fellow and has spent seven years as a CIA technical intelligence officer.