2 NASA astronauts to receive Congressional Space Medal of Honor

CNN
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Vice President Kamala Harris will present the Congressional Space Medal of Honor to two former NASA astronauts in a White House ceremony Tuesday, according to a White House official and NASA.

Douglas Hurley and Robert Behnken will be awarded for their “for bravery in NASA’s SpaceX Demonstration Mission-2 (Demo-2) to the International Space Station in 2020,” NASA said in a news release. The ceremony will mark the first Congressional Space Medal of Honors awarded since 2006.

The pair piloted the first crewed launch for SpaceX as part of NASA’s inaugural Commercial Crew Mission to the International Space Station in 2020 – the first astronauts to launch to orbit from the US in nearly a decade. Five crewed missions have been launched to the ISS carrying 13 American and 7 international astronauts since the 2020 launch, according to the White House official.

Hurley, who served in the Marines, and Behnken, who served in the Air Force, were both military test pilots before they joined NASA in 2000. The space agency has a long history of selecting test pilots, who spend hundreds of hours flying around in experimental supersonic aircraft, to be astronauts.

The award recognizes “any astronaut who in the performance of his duties has distinguished himself or herself by exceptionally meritorious efforts and contributions to the welfare of the nation and mankind.” It has been awarded to 28 people, including 17 posthumously, since it was authorized by Congress in 1969, according to the White House official.

Harris, who chairs the National Space Council as part of her portfolio, will present the award in a ceremony from the Indian Treaty Room of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building Tuesday afternoon.