Astronaut

Children are often asked, as part of an assembly or by their teachers, what they want to be when they grow up. For a lot of kids, this may be an attractive job based on perceived importance and heroism such as firefighter or police officer, or something cued in their minds from their everyday lives, such as teacher, school nurse, or whatever job their parent does. Few occupations, however, capture the majesty and elite status of being an astronaut, which makes the career path all the more appealing to youths. Astronauts like John Glenn and Neil Armstrong, even though exact their exact roles in American aeronautic history may not be known to all, are still famous and synonymous with space travel. Even if one is not first to orbit the Earth or set foot on the moon’s surface, to be an astronaut is to be part of a very select few. Only a handful of people, in relative terms, can say they were astronauts, that they shot away from the Earth in a rocket and went beyond the stratosphere.

While the cost of sending men and women into space in expensive spacecraft is a limiting factor in itself, the fact that the process to become a space explorer is a rigorous one also helps to protect their vaunted distinction. Simply put, qualified astronauts are not easy to come by. One major reason for this is the selection process to become an astronaut. In a given two-year period, a maximum of 25 people will be both nominated and selected by an appointed committee to serve as astronauts on the behalf of the American people. Aside from any previous flight experience (and a significant number of hours will be required for pilots), the applicant must have a degree in a biological or physical science, mathematics or engineering, and must past any and all physical medical examinations.

The hard work and preparation is far from over upon acceptance to an astronaut training program, though. There are a battery of tests awaiting the applicant. First, a year of general training must be completed by those who strive to become astronauts. This is succeeded by a period of basic classroom training in various scientific disciplines, as well as any fields of study germane to the mission; e.g. Apollo mission teams were required to learn additionally about the structure of the moon. Also, the applicant must endure several kinds of physical training. All applicants who plan to participate in space flight must additionally undergo flight training, survival training in the event of an unanticipated landing, basic mission training including weightlessness training, and advanced mission training in a mission simulator.

Only after mastery of all of the above on the checklist can candidates be considered to become astronauts. Thus, while the path of astronaut is an exciting one because it affords the individual the rare opportunity to go into space, it is safe to say that not everyone who initially sets on becoming one will be successful, for it takes much dedication and character to become an astronaut