Flight crew assignments questions/speculation

[John_Marshall]

Lindgren also backed-up Demo-2, so that might go some way to explaining why he drew the Crew-4 command, rather than Hines.

True. It doesn't explain how he ended up with that assignment, but once he got it, the rest does make sense.

[Hog]

My best guess as to why Matt Dominick is commander is because he's a test pilot, and such occupation qualifies him as commander. I don't think spaceflight experience plays a factor when choosing flight assignments.

That doesn't explain Kjell Lindgren and Bob Hines on Crew-4, but otherwise, I think you're right.

Moved this comment to the "Flight crew assignments questions" thread in "General Discussion" since it's off-topic in the Crew-8 thread.

The term "test pilot" refers to an experienced fighter pilot who evaluates brand-new aircraft technologies and other stuff a regular fighter pilot doesn't have experience with. Bob Hines' occupation prior to entering the astronaut corps was a civilian research pilot.

To me, the term "civilian research" is a slightly lower rank than test pilot. Hence maybe why Bob Hines was assigned as Crew-4 pilot. Don't know why Kjell Lindgren was assigned as Crew-4 commander since he's a physician.

You don't have to fly fighters to be a test pilot, you must have completed test pilot school.

[NasaFan95]

Judging from earlier CFT remarks, the Starliner-1 mission is anticipated a year after CFT.

As such, at the present time, Starliner-1 is USCV-9 in late summer/early fall of 2024. Tingle and Fincke are already assigned and the names of Yui and Kutryk have also been floated, but not sure how accurate that is.

One thing I'm fairly sure is that the Russians won't fly a cosmonaut on Starliner-1. Or will they?

Not trying to speculate the question I have since the starliner mission is the next supposed mission after crew 8 will Dominick stay on as backup commander or will Nicole Mann, Josh Cassada, Butch Wilmore or Suni Williams backup Scott Tingle.

[NasaFan95]

With what we can read in some of Borisov Telegram post, Prokopiev will continue to command until his departure, then Mogensen until Crew-7 departure (so nearly the complete Exp-70) and then Kononenko take for the end of 70 and Exp-71 in complete.

The question is who will take in for Exp-72 but it will be a USOS astro for sure

if I had to guess the first 15 to 20 days of expedition 72 and I swear I’m not trying to speculate Mike Barratt, than Aleksey Ovchinin. That be my guess.

[NasaFan95]

My best guess as to why Matt Dominick is commander is because he's a test pilot, and such occupation qualifies him as commander. I don't think spaceflight experience plays a factor when choosing flight assignments.

That doesn't explain Kjell Lindgren and Bob Hines on Crew-4, but otherwise, I think you're right.

Moved this comment to the "Flight crew assignments questions" thread in "General Discussion" since it's off-topic in the Crew-8 thread.

The term "test pilot" refers to an experienced fighter pilot who evaluates brand-new aircraft technologies and other stuff a regular fighter pilot doesn't have experience with. Bob Hines' occupation prior to entering the astronaut corps was a civilian research pilot.

To me, the term "civilian research" is a slightly lower rank than test pilot. Hence maybe why Bob Hines was assigned as Crew-4 pilot. Don't know why Kjell Lindgren was assigned as Crew-4 commander since he's a physician.

You don't have to fly fighters to be a test pilot, you must have completed test pilot school.

Hines is a research pilot not a military test pilot which is why he was pilot on crew 4, it’s the same thing for Woody Hoburg he’s an assistant professor astronaut  with nasa not a military test pilot, that’s why Bowen got the command on crew 6.

[John_Marshall]

Not trying to speculate the question I have since the starliner mission is the next supposed mission after crew 8 will Dominick stay on as backup commander or will Nicole mann, Josh cassada, Butch wilmore or Suni Williams backup tingle.

Dominick has been moved over to Dragon.

if I had to guess the first 15 to 20 days of expedition 72 and I swear I’m not trying to speculate Mike barratt, than aleksey ovchinin. That be my guess.

I know you're not trying to, but you still are speculating (forming a theory or conjecture about a subject without firm evidence). Please stop.

[zubenelgenubi explanation and editorial:
These posts were split/merged from the assignment thread to the "questions" thread created, in part, for the almost-idle speculation that the OP craves.  Ranks right up there with the continued speculation about the hypothetical crews of Apollo 18, 19, and 20, fifty-odd years later.]

Hines is a research pilot not a military test pilot which is why he was pilot on crew 4, it’s the same thing for Woody Hoburg he’s an assistant professor astronaut  with nasa not a military test pilot, that’s why Bowen got the command on crew 6.

Hines was a military pilot, with 76 combat missions. I'm not surprised Hoburg flew as PLT, for the reasons you mention.

[Rian]

Can we just go ahead and make a flight crew assignments speculation thread? (it will end the disagreements about wether something is speculation, etc).

I'm sure there are a few of us who would post in there (me included) and there are various other speculation based threads on here.

[zubenelgenubi]

Can we just go ahead and make a flight crew assignments speculation thread? (it will end the disagreements about wether something is speculation, etc).

This is that thread (to an extent).
See my added note in the post above. 📝

[John_Marshall]

This is that thread (to an extent).
See my added note in the post above. 📝

Thank you for the guidance and clarification. The rampant speculation has become quite frustrating, so I appreciate your chiming in.

[Rian]

Can we just go ahead and make a flight crew assignments speculation thread? (it will end the disagreements about wether something is speculation, etc).

This is that thread (to an extent).
See my added note in the post above. 📝

I don't understand why we can't just have an actual speculation thread so we don't constantly have to juggle around the extent something is "speculation" or not.  "To an extent" doesn't make a whole lot of sense in the direction of a thread.

Not trying to speculate the question I have since the starliner mission is the next supposed mission after crew 8 will Dominick stay on as backup commander or will Nicole mann, Josh cassada, Butch wilmore or Suni Williams backup tingle.

Dominick has been moved over to Dragon.

if I had to guess the first 15 to 20 days of expedition 72 and I swear I’m not trying to speculate Mike barratt, than aleksey ovchinin. That be my guess.

I know you're not trying to, but you still are speculating (forming a theory or conjecture about a subject without firm evidence). Please stop.

[zubenelgenubi explanation and editorial:
These posts were split/merged from the assignment thread to the "questions" thread created, in part, for the almost-idle speculation that the OP craves.  Ranks right up there with the continued speculation about the hypothetical crews of Apollo 18, 19, and 20, fifty-odd years later.]

I also think we shouldn't judge people based on what they want to discuss in this thread or any thread. Hence why I believe a true speculation thread just makes sense. Just my two cents. Mod can remove this message just think it would make things much easier.

[dcfowler1]

Hines is a research pilot not a military test pilot which is why he was pilot on crew 4, it’s the same thing for Woody Hoburg he’s an assistant professor astronaut  with nasa not a military test pilot, that’s why Bowen got the command on crew 6.

That's nonsense.

[Ben E]

I think seniority had more to do with the Bowen-Hoburg assignment. Bowen had three prior Shuttle flights to his credit, in addition to a military background.

Lindgren had a prior ISS increment and the Demo-2 backup command (not PLT) to his credit.

As I understand it, Dragon does not require test piloting credentials (or a military background) for the CDR.

[NasaFan95]

Can we just go ahead and make a flight crew assignments speculation thread? (it will end the disagreements about wether something is speculation, etc).

This is that thread (to an extent).
See my added note in the post above. 📝

I don't understand why we can't just have an actual speculation thread so we don't constantly have to juggle around the extent something is "speculation" or not.  "To an extent" doesn't make a whole lot of sense in the direction of a thread.

Not trying to speculate the question I have since the starliner mission is the next supposed mission after crew 8 will Dominick stay on as backup commander or will Nicole mann, Josh cassada, Butch wilmore or Suni Williams backup tingle.

Dominick has been moved over to Dragon.

if I had to guess the first 15 to 20 days of expedition 72 and I swear I’m not trying to speculate Mike barratt, than aleksey ovchinin. That be my guess.

I know you're not trying to, but you still are speculating (forming a theory or conjecture about a subject without firm evidence). Please stop.

[zubenelgenubi explanation and editorial:
These posts were split/merged from the assignment thread to the "questions" thread created, in part, for the almost-idle speculation that the OP craves.  Ranks right up there with the continued speculation about the hypothetical crews of Apollo 18, 19, and 20, fifty-odd years later.]

I also think we shouldn't judge people based on what they want to discuss in this thread or any thread. Hence why I believe a true speculation thread just makes sense. Just my two cents. Mod can remove this message just think it would make things much easier.

I’m all for that we could call it crew assignment speculation

[NasaFan95]

I think seniority had more to do with the Bowen-Hoburg assignment. Bowen had three prior Shuttle flights to his credit, in addition to a military background.

Lindgren had a prior ISS increment and the Demo-2 backup command (not PLT) to his credit.

As I understand it, Dragon does not require test piloting credentials (or a military background) for the CDR.

so you’re saying someone like a Megan mcarthur could command dragon despite not being a test pilot having flown two previous missions, a shuttle mission, & a dragon mission as pilot.

[NasaFan95]

I do have a question when is the Boeing crewed flight test gonna happen it was originally scheduled for July and now has been postponed until a later date, so I wonder if space x crew 9 will fly first or if starliner crew 1 will fly first instead of doing the test flight. If anyone knows anything please let me know.

No one has any way of knowing what will fly when right now. They're not going to skip the test flight, but otherwise, your guess is probably as good as mine. Until news comes out, nobody knows. Right now, all any of us can do is speculate.

With what we can read in some of Borisov Telegram post, Prokopiev will continue to command until his departure, then Mogensen until Crew-7 departure (so nearly the complete Exp-70) and then Kononenko take for the end of 70 and Exp-71 in complete.

The question is who will take in for Exp-72 but it will be a USOS astro for sure

Thanks, Marc! I hadn't seen that.

supposedly the Boeing crewed flight test is happening in March of next year from what I’ve read.

[John_Marshall]

Your posts are very hard to read and to understand. I'm missing periods at the end of the sentences. A lot of names like Barratt, Marshburn or Fincke you wrote with small first letter. This is not correct.

Seconded. The post is punctuated as if the entire thing was one sentence, which makes it much harder to follow.

[NasaFan95]

Your posts are very hard to read and to understand. I'm missing periods at the end of the sentences. A lot of names like Barratt, Marshburn or Fincke you wrote with small first letter. This is not correct.

Seconded. The post is punctuated as if the entire thing was one sentence, which makes it much harder to follow.

I apologize John I have punctuation issues.

[John_Marshall]

I apologize John I have punctuation issues.

Understood. I'll be honest with you and won't say it's not frustrating reading your posts, but my goal in my previous post was genuinely still to help, not to critique.

[NasaFan95]

Not trying to speculate the question I have since the starliner mission is the next supposed mission after crew 8 will Dominick stay on as backup commander or will Nicole mann, Josh cassada, Butch wilmore or Suni Williams backup tingle.

Dominick has been moved over to Dragon.

if I had to guess the first 15 to 20 days of expedition 72 and I swear I’m not trying to speculate Mike barratt, than aleksey ovchinin. That be my guess.

I know you're not trying to, but you still are speculating (forming a theory or conjecture about a subject without firm evidence). Please stop.

[zubenelgenubi explanation and editorial:
These posts were split/merged from the assignment thread to the "questions" thread created, in part, for the almost-idle speculation that the OP craves.  Ranks right up there with the continued speculation about the hypothetical crews of Apollo 18, 19, and 20, fifty-odd years later.]

Hines is a research pilot not a military test pilot which is why he was pilot on crew 4, it’s the same thing for Woody Hoburg he’s an assistant professor astronaut  with nasa not a military test pilot, that’s why Bowen got the command on crew 6.

Hines was a military pilot, with 76 combat missions. I'm not surprised Hoburg flew as PLT, for the reasons you mention.

with Dominick moving over to dragon to command crew 8 have they named a replacement backup commander for starliner 1.

[Hog]

My best guess as to why Matt Dominick is commander is because he's a test pilot, and such occupation qualifies him as commander. I don't think spaceflight experience plays a factor when choosing flight assignments.

That doesn't explain Kjell Lindgren and Bob Hines on Crew-4, but otherwise, I think you're right.

Moved this comment to the "Flight crew assignments questions" thread in "General Discussion" since it's off-topic in the Crew-8 thread.

The term "test pilot" refers to an experienced fighter pilot who evaluates brand-new aircraft technologies and other stuff a regular fighter pilot doesn't have experience with. Bob Hines' occupation prior to entering the astronaut corps was a civilian research pilot.

To me, the term "civilian research" is a slightly lower rank than test pilot. Hence maybe why Bob Hines was assigned as Crew-4 pilot. Don't know why Kjell Lindgren was assigned as Crew-4 commander since he's a physician.

You don't have to fly fighters to be a test pilot, you must have completed test pilot school.

Hines is a research pilot not a military test pilot which is why he was pilot on crew 4, it’s the same thing for Woody Hoburg he’s an assistant professor astronaut  with nasa not a military test pilot, that’s why Bowen got the command on crew 6.

You're missing the point.
You defined the term test pilot as "an experienced fighter pilot who evaluates brand-new aircraft technologies and other stuff a regular fighter pilot doesn't have experience with."  This is INCORRECT.

Test pilots have various experiences with flying bombers, cargo, fighter(ie fixed wing aircraft), helicopters(ie rotary wing, not just with fighter type aircraft.  The defining factor in being a test pilot is that you were selected for and graduated from a proper Test Pilot School, being military or civilian is irrelevant.
Example of military Test Pilot School is the US Air Force Test Pilot School and the United States Naval Test Pilot School,. Over 90 astronauts have graduated from the USNTPS.  Both  military personnel AND civilians may apply to the USAFTPS and pilots, navigators and engineers may attend either school.

There is also the National Test Pilot School in the USA which is a civilian school, but I'm not too familiar with it.

Fred Haise, was to be the 6th human to walk the Moon, attended what at the time was called the U.S. Air Force Aerospace Research Pilot School, and worked for years with NASA as a civilian pilot. He was the first graduate of his NASA Astronaut Class(NASA Group #5) to be assigned a space mission, Apollo-13.

There's also spots for international personnel fmr. CSA Astronaut and RCAF Fighter Test Pilot Chris Hadfield attended the USAFTPS and served as an exchange officer with the US Navy.

Hobough is a NASA astronaut, who worked as an Assistant Professor and is a private pilot.  At NASA, astros can either be Active, Managers or Candidates.  Flight Test School graduation is used to satisfy the Masters degree requirement for Astronaut candidacy(as well as a completed Physician program(MD or DO).  His selection as the Pilot just shows how things have changed in regards to Pilot positions of modern capsules as when actual flying was performed by Pilots/Commanders during STS.