NASA, SpaceX’s Crew-8: Meet the astronauts who are headed to space

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NASA and SpaceX are counting down to the launch of their next crewed mission to the International Space Station.

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Crew-8 is set to launch to the ISS atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

The launch was originally set for 12:04 a.m. Friday, but it has been pushed back to 11:16 p.m. Saturday.

Watch: NASA, SpaceX’s Crew-8 astronauts arrive at Kennedy Space Center

Crew-8 arrived at the Kennedy Space Center on Sunday.

The team consists of three NASA astronauts and a Russian cosmonaut.

Watch: NASA successfully conducts first simulated surgery in space

Here are more details on the Crew-8 crewmembers:

Matthew Dominick

USCV-8 Crew Training provided by SpaceX
Date:  October 20, 2023
Photographer:  SpaceX
USCV-8 Crew Training provided by SpaceX Date: October 20, 2023 Photographer: SpaceX

NASA astronaut and U.S. Navy Commander Matthew Dominick will serve as spacecraft commander for Crew-8.

Dominick, a Colorado native, was picked to join NASA in 2017.

After undergoing flight training in Pensacola, Florida, Dominick accumulated more than 1,600 flight hours in 28 aircraft models, 400 carrier arrestments, 61 combat missions, and nearly 200 flight test carrier landings, NASA said.

The Crew-8 mission will be Dominick’s first flight into space.

Michael Barratt

USCV-8 Crew Training provided by SpaceX
Date:  October 20, 2023
Photographer:  SpaceX
USCV-8 Crew Training provided by SpaceX Date: October 20, 2023 Photographer: SpaceX

NASA astronaut Dr. Michael R. Barratt will serve as a pilot for Crew-8.

The spaceflight veteran, and Washington native, is board-certified in internal and aerospace medicine and joined NASA in 2000.

Barratt has previously flown to the space station for two missions, accumulated a total of 212 days in space, and has performed two spacewalks.

Jeanette Epps

USCV-8 Crew Training provided by SpaceX
Date:  October 20, 2023
Photographer:  SpaceX
USCV-8 Crew Training provided by SpaceX Date: October 20, 2023 Photographer: SpaceX

NASA astronaut Jeanette Epps will serve as a mission specialist for Crew-8.

Epps, a New York native, was selected by NASA as an astronaut in 2009.

Epps previously spent more than two years working at Ford Motor Company as a technical specialist and worked for more than seven years as a technical intelligence officer for the Central Intelligence Agency.

The Crew-8 mission will be Epps’ first flight into space.

• Alexander Grebenkin

USCV-8 Crew Training provided by SpaceX
Date:  October 20, 2023
Photographer:  SpaceX
USCV-8 Crew Training provided by SpaceX Date: October 20, 2023 Photographer: SpaceX

Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin will serve as a flight engineer for Crew-8.

Grebenkin graduated from Irkutsk High Military Aviation School, Irkutsk, Russia.

He also graduated from Moscow Technical University of Communications and Informatics with a degree in radio communications, broadcasting, and television.

The Crew-8 mission will be Grebenkin’s first flight into space.

Watch: US spacecraft that landed sideways on the moon sends new images, continues to communicate

Channel 9 will continue to monitor the planned Crew-8 launch and provide updates on Eyewitness News.

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