Career Astronauts

In the future, passenger flight into space is likely to become as routine as air travel. In the early twenty-first century, however, opening up the space frontier is the duty of a select cadre of highly trained individuals. In the United States, the early pioneering days of human spaceflight gave rise to individuals with what author Tom Wolfe called the "right stuff." These individuals were tough-as-nails experimental aircraft test pilots. They were critical to getting America's human spaceflight program, quite literally, off the ground. During the 1960s, and continuing through the 1970s, a unique corps of astronauts flew in the U.S. Mercury , Gemini , Apollo , and Skylab programs.

Today, after some forty years of human sojourns into low Earth orbit and to the Moon, roughly 400 people have departed Earth, heading for orbit. Beginning in 1981, a majority of these individuals have been boosted there courtesy of a U.S. space shuttle. Space travel has come a long way, from the early single-person "capsule" to the winged flight of a space shuttle.

Types and Duties of NASA Astronauts

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) recruits pilot astronaut candidates and mission specialist astronaut candidates to support the space shuttle and International Space Station programs. Persons from both the civilian sector and the military services are considered. Applicants for the NASA Astronaut Candidate Program must be citizens of the United States.^*

Pilot astronauts serve as both space shuttle commanders and pilots. During flight the commander has onboard responsibility for the vehicle, crew, mission success, and the safety of the flight. The pilot assists the commander in controlling and operating the vehicle. In addition, the pilot may assist in the deployment and retrieval of satellites using the remote manipulator system , in extravehicular activities (spacewalking ), and in other payload operations .

Mission specialist astronauts, working with the commander and pilot, have overall responsibility for the coordination of shuttle operations in the areas of crew activity planning, consumables usage, and experiment and payload operations. Mission specialists are required to have detailed knowledge of shuttle systems, as well as detailed knowledge of the operational characteristics, mission requirements and objectives, and supporting systems and equipment for each payload element on their assigned missions. Mission specialists perform space walks, use the remote manipulator system to handle payloads, and perform or assist in specific experiments.

Space shuttle crews have demonstrated that operation and experimental investigations in space are a challenging endeavor. A basic shuttle crew normally consists of five people: the commander, the pilot, and three mission specialists. On occasion, additional mission specialists, payload specialists , or other crewmembers are assigned. The commander, pilot, and mission specialists are NASA astronauts.

An exciting new era of space exploration is underway with the building of the International Space Station (ISS). The development of this orbital facility has been called the largest international scientific and technological endeavor ever undertaken.

The ISS is designed to house six to seven people, and a permanent laboratory will be established in a realm where gravity, temperature, and pressure can be manipulated in a variety of scientific and engineering pursuits that are impossible in ground-based laboratories. The ISS will be a test bed for the technologies of the future and a laboratory for research on new, advanced industrial materials, communications technology, and medical research.

Requirements for Applicants

What minimum requirements must an individual meet prior to submitting an application for astronaut status at NASA?

For a mission specialist astronaut candidate, an individual must have a bachelor's degree from an accredited institution in engineering, a biological or physical science, or mathematics. The degree must be followed by at least three years of related, progressively responsible, professional experience. An advanced degree is desirable and may be substituted for part or all of the experience requirement (a master's degree is considered equivalent to one year of experience, while a doctoral degree equals three years of experience). The quality of the academic preparation is important. Individuals must also pass a NASA Class II space physical, which is similar to a military or civilian Class II flight physical, and includes the following specific standards:

• Distance visual acuity: 20/200 or better uncorrected, correctable to20/20, each Qeye
• Blood pressure: 140/90 measured in a sitting position
• Height: between 148.6 and 193 centimeters (58.5 and 76 inches)

The minimum requirement for a pilot astronaut candidate is a bachelor's degree from an accredited institution in engineering, a biological or physical science, or mathematics. An advanced degree is desirable. The quality of the academic preparation is important. At least 1,000 hours pilot-in-command time in jet aircraft is necessary. Flight test experience is highly desirable. Applicants must pass a NASA Class I space physical, which is similar to a military or civilian Class I flight physical, and includes the following specific standards:

• Distant visual acuity: 20/70 or better uncorrected, correctable to20/20, each eye
• Blood pressure: 140/90 measured in a sitting position
• Height: between 162.6 and 193 centimeters (64 and 76 inches)

Screening and Training

Beyond the initial application requirements, NASA's astronaut selection involves a rigorous screening process designed to cull the best and brightest from those who are applying. In fact, in July 1999, a NASA call for astronauts produced more than 4,000 applicants. A mere 3 percent made the first cut. From there, further screening by the Astronaut Selection Board led to a final twenty candidates.

Those who make the grade as astronaut trainees are located at NASA's Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. The selected applicants are designated astronaut candidates and undergo a one-to two-year training and evaluation period during which time they participate in the basic astronaut training program. This effort is designed to develop the knowledge and skills required for formal mission training upon selection for a flight. During their candidate period, pilot astronaut candidates must maintain proficiency in NASA aircraft.

As part of the astronaut candidate training program, trainees are required to complete military water survival exercises prior to beginning their flying studies and become scuba qualified to prepare them for spacewalking training. Consequently, all astronaut candidates are required to pass a swimming test during their first month of training. They must swim three lengths of a 25-meter (82-foot) pool without stopping, and then swim three lengths of the pool in a flight suit and tennis shoes. The strokes allowed are freestyle, breaststroke, and sidestroke. There is no time limit. The candidates must also tread water continuously for ten minutes.

To simulate microgravity , astronaut candidates board the infamous "Vomit Comet," a converted KC-135 jet aircraft. Flown on a parabolic trajectory , this airplane can produce periods of microgravity for some twenty seconds. Akin to an airborne version of a roller coaster, the parabolic maneuvers are repeated up to forty times a day. Those riding inside the aircraft experience microgravity similar to that felt in orbital flight, although in short bursts.

One very important note: Selection as a candidate does not ensure selection as an astronaut. Final selection is based on the satisfactory completion of the one-year program.

Salaries

Salaries for civilian astronaut candidates are based on the federal government's general schedule pay scales for grades GS-11 through GS-14 and are set in accordance with each individual's academic achievements and experience. Selected military personnel are assigned to the Johnson Space Center but remain in an active duty status for pay, benefits, leave, and other similar military matters.

see also Astronauts, Types of (volume 3); Kc-135 Training Aircraft (volume 3); Mission Specialists (volume 3); Nasa (volume 3); Payload Specialists (volume 3).

Leonard David

Bibliography

National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Astronaut Fact Book. Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX, 1998.

Wachhorst, Wyn. The Dream of Spaceflight. New York: Basic Books, 2000.

Internet Resources

"How Do You Become an Astronaut?" NASA Human Spaceflight.<http://www.spaceflight.nasa.gov/outreach/jobsinfo/astronaut.html>.

^*Readers interested in an astronaut career may request an application package by writing to: NASA Johnson Space Center, Attn: AHX/Astronaut Selection Office, Houston, Texas 77058.