Astronauts
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Meet the four NASA astronauts who launched on Sunday on the SpaceX flight to the International Space Station, marking NASA’s first full-fledged mission sending a crew into orbit aboard a privately owned spacecraft.

Born in Lebanon, Missouri, Crew-1 commander NASA astronaut Mike Hopkins has spent 166 days in space. Hopkins has a bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Illinois and a master's degree in aerospace engineering from Stanford University.

NASA astronaut Victor Glover launched to space for the first time on the NASA SpaceX Crew-1 mission.

Glover is a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School, holds three master of science degrees, and was selected as a NASA astronaut in 2013.

Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) is the first international crew member to fly on a commercial crew mission.

"The vehicle is definitely like a living creature", Noguchi says, "All the pipes, all the pipelines are alive."

NASA astronaut Dr. Shannon Walker holds a bachelor of arts degree in physics, a master of science and a doctorate of philosophy in space physics from Rice University. She launches on Nov. 15 at 7:27 p.m. aboard the NASA SpaceX Crew-1 mission, the first crew rotation flight of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. Get to know Shannon.

"I do believe that human spaceflight is an imperative for our planet", Walker explains, "and to be a part of that -- to keep the progress going -- I find very inspiring."