Douglas Hurley was working toward a master’s in aviation systems at UTSI when selected for astronaut training. Attendance at UTSI is not included in his official NASA biographical information. Selected as a pilot by NASA in July 2000, Hurley reported for training in August 2000. Following the completion of two years of training and evaluation, he was assigned technical duties in the Astronaut Office, which included Kennedy Operations Support, as a Cape Crusader where he was the lead ASP (Astronaut Support Personnel) for Shuttle missions STS-107 and STS-121. He worked Shuttle Landing and Rollout and served on the Columbia Reconstruction Team at Kennedy Space Center and in the Exploration Branch in support of the selection of the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV). He also served as the NASA director of operations at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center (GCTC) in Star City, Russia.
In July 2009 Colonel Hurley completed his first space flight as pilot on STS-127, ISS Assembly Mission 2J/A, and has logged over 376 hours in space. STS-127, ISS Assembly Mission 2J/A, Endeavour (July 15–31, 2009) delivered the Japanese-built Exposed Facility (JEM-EF) and the Experiment Logistics Module Exposed Section (ELM-ES) to the International Space Station. The crew completed the construction of the KIBO Japanese Experiment Module, installed scientific experiments on its Exposed Facility and delivered critical spare parts and replacement batteries to the orbital complex, in addition to transferring 24,638 pounds of hardware and 1,225 pounds of water to the station. While the shuttle was docked to the station, the mission featured a record 13 astronauts working aboard the station, representing all five ISS partners—NASA, the Russian Space Agency, the Canadian Space Agency, the European Space Agency and the Japanese Space Agency (JAXA). The 16-day mission included five spacewalks and was accomplished in 248 orbits of the earth, traveling 6,547,853 million miles in 15 days, 16 hours, 44 minutes and 58 seconds.