Female, black astronaut booted from space station flight to ring closing bell at NASDAQ for NASA

NASA astronaut Jeanette Epps was on track to become the first African-American crew member on the International Space Station this year, but the space agency announced today that she has been pulled from her mission for unspecified reasons. She was supposed to launch as part of Expedition 56/67 in June 2018. less NASA astronaut Jeanette Epps was on track to become the first African-American crew member on the International Space Station this year, but the space agency announced today that she has been pulled from her ... more Photo: NASA Photo: NASA Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Female, black astronaut booted from space station flight to ring closing bell at NASDAQ for NASA 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

NASA astronaut Jeannette Epps -- who was robbed of her chance to become the first black crew member on the International Space Station last year -- will represent NASA today by ringing the closing bell at NASDAQ.

Epps will join NASA's chief financial officer, Jeff DeWit, in New York City as part of the agency's celebration of the 50th anniversary of the lunar landing Saturday. The closing bell is rung at 3 p.m. Houston time.

In January 2018, NASA abruptly cut Epps from the upcoming trio headed to the space station. She was replaced by Serena Auñón-Chancellor, a Hispanic flight surgeon selected as an astronaut alongside Epps in 2009.

CHARGES OF RACISM: NASA faces calls for reinstatement of first African American on International Space Station crew

The internet immediately erupted with charges of racism and an online petition was created calling for both an explanation and Epp's reinstatement.

The space agency still has not offered an explanation for this decision and Epps still has not been rescheduled to fly. Epps said in June 2018 that she believes the decision was made by someone at NASA, not their Russian partners.

NASA has relied on Russia to launch its astronauts to the space station since the Space Shuttle program ended in 2011.

UNKNOWN REASONS: Jeanette Epps doesn't know why NASA booted her from International Space Station flight

In Epps' stead, Auñón-Chancellor launched to the space station alongside the European Space Agency's Alexander Gerst and Russia's Sergey Prokopyev in June 2018.

During their time in space, the Russian section of the orbiting laboratory sprung a leak, allowing air to slowly escape. The crew patched the hole quickly, but the Russians still have not offered an explanation for the problem.

ABORT: American, Russian astronauts safe after emergency landing of Soyuz MS-10

Also during their mission, the Russian Soyuz spacecraft transporting American astronaut Nick Hague to the space station had to abort its launch after a rocket booster failed, forcing an emergency landing. Hague and his crewmate, Russian cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin, emerged unscathed, but this was the first such event for the Russians in 35 years.

Despite the eventful 197 days in orbit, Auñón-Chancellor and her crew returned safely on Dec. 19. 2018.

Alex Stuckeys writes about NASA and science for the Houston Chronicle. You can reach her at alex.stuckey@chron.com or Twitter.com/alexdstuckey.

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