MadSci Network: Other
Query:

Re: Which are the preparatives necessary to send a human to space?

Date: Thu Apr 20 09:17:02 2000
Posted By: David Ellis, Researcher, NASA Lewis Research Center
Area of science: Other
ID: 955335297.Ot
Message:

A very good question.

In general, all astronauts need to be in generally good health, have vision correctable to 20/20, and have at least a bachelor's degree in science or engineering. Pilots and commanders, the people who actually fly the shuttle, must also have at least 1000 hours of flight time in jet aircraft and better vision than mission specialists. A copy of the full requirements can be found here.

Typically a call for an astronaut class goes out every ywo years. About 4,000 applications are made for the 20 positions that will be open. So the chances of being chosen are not good. It is not impossible, though, so if you are interested in becoming an astronaut by all means pursue your desire. Just go into it with your eyes open to the fact that there will be extremely tough competition.

Once a candidate is selected for trainineg, they go into basic astronaut training. This includes crew survival, basic Shuttle operations, basic onboard science training and other basic training htat will familiarize the stronauts with the operation of the Shuttle, its cargo and its space suits.

After basic training, the astronauts are assigned to a mission. This can either be a Shuttle mission or a mission on the International Space Station. In both cases, the astronauts train extensively to learn the jobs that they will perform while in orbit. Typically this will involve training with researchers to become intimately familiar with the experiments that will be flying on a mission or extensive work with engineers and specialists if the mission is to repair a satellite or assemble the space station. In addition to learning their own portion of the mission, all astronauts cross-train to learn at least the basics of all other portions of the mission. That way if anything happens they can step in and perform the required tasks.

Training for a mission lasts more than a year. The experiments often take 10 years to design and build, so the success of the mission is critical. Training will continue right up to launch and, in the case of the space station, even while on orbit.

Additional Resources

Astronaut Resources - An unoffical page, but it draws together several resources and presents a balanced overview of becoming an astronaut

Space Flight Questions and Answers - NASA's official FAQ page dealing with commonly asked manned space flight questions

NASA Human Spaceflight - central location for all aspects of US manned spaceflight activities

European Astronaut Centre - the European Space Agency(ESA) astronaut training center

IKI Space Research Institute - International contractor for the Russian Space Agency


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