NASA astronaut Jeanette Epps, who was slated to become the first African American crew member to live on board the International Space Station, was unexpectedly pulled from her June flight. In a brief news release Thursday, NASA announced that Serena Auñón-Chancellor, a fellow member of Epps’s astronaut class who was scheduled to launch later in the year, would be bumped up to take Epps’s place. NASA did not give an explanation for the crew change. But Epps’s brother blamed racism at the space agency. He linked to a MoveOn.org petition asking NASA to reinstate Epps.

Source: thestar January 23, 2018 19:30 UTC