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Welcome to the NASA Commercial Crew Program Next Gen STEM Student Badge

NASA is partnering with private industry to bring in a new era of commercial space. NASA's Commercial Crew Program is preparing to return America's capability to launch U.S. astronauts to the International Space Station.

While Boeing and SpaceX are getting ready to launch astronauts from U.S. soil, getting off the ground is just the beginning. Once they arrive at the International Space Station, astronauts will be working on research to improve life on Earth, and help us send humans into deep space—farther than ever before.

Astronauts are getting ready to fly on the test flights and first missions of Boeing’s Starliner and SpaceX’s Crew Dragon. Learn about the first flights of Boeing’s Crew Space Transportation (CST)-100 Starliner and SpaceX’s Crew Dragon with and without astronauts on board, and what they will accomplish for NASA and its commercial partners.

Boeing’s Starliner and SpaceX’s Crew Dragon are the commercial spacecraft that will fly astronauts from the U.S. to the International Space Station for the first time since 2011.

Badge Objectives:

In this badge you will:

learn about the International Space Station
learn about NASA’s Commercial Crew Program and Commercial Crew Astronauts
discover information about careers related to NASA's Commercial Crew Program

Audience: Middle School Students (but also appropriate for upper elementary students)

Time Required: ~2 hours

Relevant National Standards:

ETS2.A
ETS2.B

NASA Resources:

I Will Launch America
Launch America Crew

Companion Educator Badge:

CCP Educator: Dawn of a New Space Age

Click here to begin the steps of the badge.