Former Nasa Astronauts Robert Behnken And Douglas Hurley Get The Space Medal From The Vice President 

NASA

Douglas Hurley and Robert Behnken will get the Congressional Space Medal of Honor for bravery in NASA’s Spacex Demonstration Mission-2 back in 2022. This is the first Congressional Space Medal of Honors that has been awarded since 2006.

The two piloted the first manned launch for SpaceX and got the award for their bravery in the NASA mission. The two piloted SpaceX for its 2020 mission to the International Space Station. Both Hurley and Behnken have a military background. The former military test pilots joined NASA in 2000, which has a long history of selecting test pilots. They spent hundreds of hours flying around in experimental supersonic aircraft.

The award recognizes astronauts who distinguished themselves through exceptional contributions and efforts to the welfare of the nation. Since it was first authorized by Congress in 1969, 28 people have got the award, including 17 of them posthumously. The award will be presented by Kamala Harris, who chairs the National Space Council as a part of her portfolio. The award will be given in a ceremony from the Indian Treaty Room, part of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on Tuesday.

NASA Astronauts Adding Their Names To The Space Medal Award

On May 30, 2020, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the company’s Crew Dragon spacecraft launched into the space station. It marked the first mission to launch with astronauts under the Commercial Crew Program.  

Other past luminaries who have been part of past missions include Alan Shepard, the first American in space, Armstrong, John Glenn, and Jim Lovell, the commander of the Apollo 13 mission. Of the 28 decorations awarded, 17 were posthumous. The departed include the crew of Apollo 1, who died during the launch, and the astronauts of the Challenger and Columbia space shuttles.