NASA astronaut Jeanette Epps will make history next year when she becomes the first Black female astronaut to be a crew member of the International Space Station, the space agency announced on Tuesday. "Epps will join NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Josh Cassada for a six-month expedition planned for a launch in 2021 to the orbiting space laboratory," NASA said in a release. "I'm super excited to join Suni Williams and Josh Cassada on the first operational Boeing crew mission to the International Space Station," Epps said in the video message. Cassada joins Epps in making his first space mission, while it will be the third trip to the ISS for Williams. Since becoming an astronaut, Epps has aided ISS crews from the ground, including as lead CAPCOM, communicating between mission control and the astronauts on various missions, Space.com reported.

Source: Fox News August 26, 2020 14:37 UTC