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She won’t be the first Black female astronaut in space — that honor goes to Mae Jemison, who flew on the Endeavour in 1998. And she won’t be the first to visit the International Space Station — six Black American astronauts have already been there. But astronaut Jeanette Epps will make history when she becomes the first Black woman to live on the ISS.
According to NASA, Epps was selected to join the Boeing Starliner-1 mission, a six-month expedition that could launch in December.
This will be the first flight for Epps, a former CIA officer with a doctorate in aerospace engineering.
– Donna Scaramastra Gorman, The Engineering 100