After learning Russian and robotics and training in jets and spacesuits over the past two years, NASA's newest astronauts are ready to take a giant leap forward for space exploration.
Chosen from a pool of more than 12,000 applicants, eight of the 10 Americans from NASA's Class of 2024 who graduated in January just happen to be current or former service members.
Among those who successfully made it through the program are Navy Lt. Cmdr. Jessica Wittner, retired Marine Corps Maj. Luke Delaney and Coast Guard Cmdr. Andre Douglas. The trio recently discussed their journeys to NASA, as well as what they're doing now and how others can potentially follow in their footsteps.
To say each of these astronauts is smart and dedicated is an understatement. Wittner has two degrees in aerospace engineering and has been a fighter pilot and test pilot since 2011. Delaney earned his wings as a KC-130 Navigator pilot in 2008 and also spent time as a test pilot. He deployed to Afghanistan twice, participated in multiple international coalition exercises and has degrees in mechanical and aerospace engineering.
Douglas earned a mechanical engineering degree from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in 2008 and served in many capacities until 2015, when he began work supporting space exploration and robotics at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab. He holds three master's degrees — in mechanical engineering, in naval architecture and marine engineering, and in electrical and computer engineering — as well as a doctorate in systems engineering.
While their experiences and expertise served them well over the past two years of astronaut training, each said they discovered they still had a lot to learn.
Wittner can still be called upon to serve the Navy if needed, but for now, she's deeply entrenched in her NASA duties, which still include flying jets.
"We teach the members of our class who don't come from a pilot background," Wittner said. "We use the T-38 to train them up."
She and Delaney said they found similarities between their days flying jets and astronaut training.
"It really teaches you to problem solve time-critical issues and then apply those in real-time," Wittner said. "That training that I got through the Navy has really helped me here … being able to think critically through the problem and then make a time-critical decision on what you should do."
"When you get into the test pilot arena, you start working on projects and developing new technologies and fielding new systems. That really bridges the gap pretty well," said Delaney, who transitioned from the Marines to working as an aerospace engineer and research pilot at NASA's Langley Research Center in 2020. "From avionics to guidance, navigation, even life support systems — all those are very similar concepts."
Douglas, who left the Coast Guard about a decade ago but recently recommissioned as a commander, said the Coast Guard's overall theme — to be flexible and adaptable — really helped him.
"When we were at sea, we usually had three to four missions at a time. So, you may be planning to wake up and do some drug enforcement operations, but then all of a sudden, there's like 700 migrants off the coast of Haiti you need to save," he said. "That just prepares you to be ready for anything."
Douglas, who was one of the youngest members of his astronaut class, has collaborated with NASA several times over the past decade working at the JHU Applied Physics Lab. But he said being an astronaut is very different from the developmental side of things.
"When we're at the lab, we're building spacecraft to do very complex missions. … You're an engineer either handling software, testing, designing or building hardware," Douglas said. "As an astronaut, we're learning how to operate vehicles. We're learning how to work together as a team … and that's a whole different mindset."
When asked to describe their complex training over the past two years, the three astronauts used terms we could all understand: "diverse," "dynamic" and "busy but fun," with a new challenge every week.
"You're probably doing some spacewalk training one day – so, you're in the Neutral Buoyancy Lab, inside the suit doing different runs and tasks and evaluations," Delaney said. "Then the next day, you're in the jet … maybe under G doing some maneuvers, or you're just working to get what we call spaceflight readiness training."
They're also busy getting up to speed on how to run the International Space Station, "learning the maintenance that we're going to do onboard, learning how to fly the robotic arm, and learning how to do EVAs — how to go out the door and do spacewalks to repair the things we need to repair outside," Wittner said.
When it comes to spacewalks, Wittner said training in a swimming pool was very different from any of her pilot training, but the same problem-solving skills came into play.
"The pool training is really unique," she said. "We get nine runs in the pool as astronaut candidates … and you need all nine of those runs, really, to figure out the best way to move and to start to gain those efficiencies … because as soon as you go out the door in a spacewalk, you want to be as efficient as possible."
There's also a lot of travel and outdoor activities, including a run at survival school.
"Expeditionary skills are a big part of what we do — being able to function in austere environments and be self-sustaining," Delaney said. "You've got to have that kind of mindset."
While their previous careers prepared them for the grueling work, they said the hardest part of all of it was attending Russian language classes, which they're still learning now so they can eventually communicate with Russian counterparts.
"The Russian language definitely took me out of my comfort zone," Delaney said. "It's just a lot different than any of the dialects or experiences I've have in my past, so it was the most challenging for sure."
"I speak a little bit of Spanish and Japanese, but Russian is very different," Douglas said. "There are other hard things, like rock climbing and stuff, but the Russian language is just — man, you have to really put in the effort to understand it."
"That was one of the harder ones for me," Wittner said. "I've never been naturally gifted with learning foreign languages. … So, thankfully, I have amazing instructors here at that have helped us get through this and get me to where I need to be."
Two United Arab Emirates astronauts, Nora AlMatrooshi and Mohammad AlMulla, trained with the candidates during those two years and gave the team a chance to bond with international partners, which is an integral part of working at NASA. The agency shares space at Houston's Johnson Space Center with the European Space Agency, Canadian Space Agency and the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency. Delaney said those partners contribute in various ways to the round-the-clock missions.
"Teamwork is a unifying principle in itself," Delaney said. "We know we're going to be operating where we're relying on each other not just to complete the mission but for our lives."
Now that they're in the pool of official astronauts, Wittner, Delaney and Douglas are waiting on assignments, which could find them on missions to the International Space Station, the moon, Mars or further deep-space explorations. Until those assignments are doled out, however, they keep busy supporting the behind-the-scenes work.
"I'm working the pressurized rover, the lunar terrain vehicle, the new space station called Gateway and then also supporting a lot of the new suit design," Douglas said. "It's given me a really good picture of how a lot of these pieces for the Artemis program are coming together."
"We're in the development and design phases of a lot of different things. There's so much going on in the space industry and NASA right now — all the Artemis developments, getting equipment and development programs set up for equipment going to the moon, and a bunch of commercial entities coming online that we're working with," Wittner said. "There's endless opportunities."
The astronauts rotate through the various operational, developmental and exploration arenas so they can understand the fundamentals of all ongoing and future missions.
"It truly is an ultimate team sport," said Delaney, who's supporting day-to-day operations for Expedition 71, the team currently onboard the ISS. "It's very similar to how we operate in the military — we just want to make sure that everything is aligned and synchronized appropriately for effective execution onboard."
Douglas agreed.
"We're one big team. a baseball team, you have designated hitters and you have pitchers, right? And they've got their strengths. So, whatever mission that the office feels I should support, I'm happy to do it," he said.
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