Has NASA Decided to Put Crew on First SLS Flight? May 8, 2017  Doug Messier  News  23 Comments If this is true, it will be only the second time in history that a crew has flown on on the first flight of a launch vehicle. The only other time was the space shuttle — and they had to do it. There was no way to fly the space shuttle without a crew. As the book “Into the Black” shows, that mission came close to disaster during launch due to a shock wave that bounced off the pad and damaged the forward connector between the shuttle and the external tank. The force also nearly damaged the tail flap. Yes, the Orion spacecraft will have an abort system. But still, it is very risky to put a crew on the very first flight of a brand new booster. Other human launch vehicles were tested separately and with spacecraft before any crews were placed on board. Another concern is the Orion spacecraft, whose only flight test lacked crucial equipment such as the service module and life support. The flight might come off just fine. But, I fear that NASA’s concern about keeping the program funded, and Donald Trump’s desire for some space spectacular to boost his re-election chances, could combine to produce something very unfortunate.