WASHINGTON, April 26: The crew of the next US space shuttle to take off when the programme resumes following the February 1 disaster that killed seven astronauts will include a Japanese astronaut and be commanded by an American woman, NASA chief Sean O’Keefe said Friday.
The date of the next mission has not yet been set, pending the results of an inquiry into the reasons the shuttle Columbia accident.
The crew of the next shuttle mission, called STS-114, will include pilot Eileen Collins, co-pilot James Kelly and mission specialists Stephen Robinson and Soichi Noguchi of the Japanese Space Agency NASDA, NASA said.
NASA has said it is shooting for launch of the next shuttle early next year.—AFP
