Apalachin Man to Head Back to Space Next Year

An astronaut from Tioga County has been chosen to fly in a commercial test flight in a SpaceX capsule.

51-year-old Douglas Hurley of Apalachin will be one of the two men who will fly on the Crew Dragon

Hurley, who was born in Endicott, is a 1984 graduate of Owego Free Academy. He was the pilot on two NASA space shuttle missions, including the last mission in 2011.

Hurley is to be joined by astronaut Robert Behnken on the Crew Dragon test flight that's expected to take place next year.

According to NASA, the Crew Dragon will be launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

NASA on Friday also announced that seven other astronauts have been selected to serve on upcoming commercial test flights.

Contact WNBF News reporter Bob Joseph: bob@wnbf.com

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