A Cal Poly alumnus has been named as one of the astronauts taking part in the Artemis II mission, Cal Poly officials said Monday.
Victor Glover is set to be the pilot of the Orion spacecraft, NASA and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) announced at a televised news conference Monday morning. The other crew members are Commander Reid Wiseman, Mission Specialist 1 Christina Hammock Koch, and Mission Specialist 2 Jeremy Hansen of Canada.
The team will go on an approximately 10-day Artemis II flight test possibly late next year. The goal of the mission is to "prove the Orion spacecraft's life-support systems and validate the capabilities and techniques needed for humans to live and work in deep space," according to school officials.
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Glover, a General Engineering graduate of 1999, previously served as the pilot and second-in-command on the SpaceX Crew Dragon, named Resilience, which launched in Nov. 2020, officials said.
He later became the first Black astronaut to complete a long-term stay on the International Space Station.
During his 168 days in space as a station systems flight engineer, officials said he "contributed to scientific investigations and technology demonstrations, completed four spacewalks, spoke with Vice President Kamala Harris, and even delivered Cal Poly’s fall 2020 commencement address".
If all things go to plan, Artemis II is expected to launch around November 2024.
Click here for more information about the Artemis II crew.
