you heard the man
You may ask yourself why a list of astronauts? But there’s simply no answer. It could have been dogs, threes or even little statues depicting the body of Budha for all I care. But, it just happened to be astronauts. I didn’t took the decision if that’s what you imply. Celestial forces above me commanded me to do the task, and so I -like the faithful Moses-like servant I am characterized to be- followed the order promptly. Here’s the result.
Note: I think that at this point other users, especially flamingo, Adrift and others have made more suggestions than the albums I have listed on my own. Thanks for all of them! (they’re still welcome).
Note 2: Since November 25th, Adrift a “collaborator” in the list 🙂
all About Astronauts
Can you think of any job more exciting than being an astronaut? Any astronaut will tell you, the hours are long, the work is hard and far from glamorous, but it’s definitely exciting and rewarding. Who are the men and women who make up the astronaut corps? Is there a special quality that makes someone astronaut material?
Image to right: Being an astronaut seems exciting to most people on Earth. Credit: NASA
NASA’s astronaut corps, representing almost all 50 states, has over 300 current and former members. The first astronaut team, comprised of seven men, was selected in 1959. Since then there has been a series of milestones in the history of human spaceflight, including:
- 1961: Russian Yuri Gagarin was the first human to fly in space.
- 1961: Alan Shepard was the first American to fly in space. (Freedom 7)
- 1962: John Glenn was the first American to orbit the Earth. (Friendship 7)
- 1963: Russian Valentina Tereshkova was the first woman to fly in space.
- 1969: Neil Armstrong was the first human to set foot on the surface of the Moon. He was also the first astronaut to become an educator. (Apollo 11)
- 1983: Sally Ride was America’s first female astronaut to fly on the Space Shuttle. (STS-7)
- 1983: NASA’s first African-American astronaut was Guion Bluford. (STS-8)
- 1992: NASA’s first African-American woman astronaut was Mae Jemison. (STS-47)
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Image to left: Guion Bluford was the first African-American to fly on the Space Shuttle. Credit: NASA
Anyone applying for a slot in an astronaut candidate class must be well-prepared. The job requirement specifies a minimum of a bachelor’s degree in engineering, biological science, physical science or mathematics. Most astronaut candidates have advanced degrees, as well as years of continuing experience in a related field. Pilot astronaut candidates also must have completed at least 1,000 hours of pilot-flying time. Astronaut candidate applicants, as well as applicants in all fields, have a much better chance for selection if they are involved in a wide range of interests and academic pursuits.
Image to right: The STS-114 crew poses in their space suits. Credit: NASA
There are several classifications of astronauts. The commander is the captain of the ship, who gives orders and makes decisions affecting the crew and mission. His or her understudy is the pilot, who has attained the same level of training. Both pilot and commander must have completed at least 1,000 hours of flight time in command of a jet aircraft; this is typically attained through military service. Mission specialists are usually scientists or engineers who bring expertise in experiments or procedures to a spaceflight. The newest category of astronaut is Educator Astronaut. The Educator Astronaut is a teacher who leaves the classroom to become an astronaut with an emphasis on educational topics. All astronauts go through extensive training lasting several years. Their preparations include foreign language instruction, emergency preparedness, physical conditioning, classroom education in scientific and engineering principles and simulation of all procedures they could encounter in space.
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Image to left: Barbara Morgan is ready to fly on the Space Shuttle.
Credit: NASA
Barbara Morgan will be the first Educator Astronaut to fly on the Space Shuttle. Educator Astronauts are fully qualified members of NASA’s Astronaut Corps and are trained to perform all of the functions and responsibilities of the agency’s mission specialist astronauts. Morgan has been a member of the Mission Control team, communicating with onboard crews during their missions. She is expected to fly in space in 2006. Before joining NASA’s astronaut team, Morgan taught reading, mathematics and science in Montana, Idaho and Ecuador. Morgan feels that educators are especially suited to work as astronauts because teachers are motivated to learn, work well with other people, are accustomed to complex ideas and procedures and view every situation as a learning experience.
Astronauts stress that their keys to success have been to do well in many areas of school, to always be involved, to be a team player and to never stop learning. Are they describing you?
NASA’s Glorious History of Training Astronauts
Wilderness Survival Training
Wilderness survival training is an important part of NASA astronaut training, in case a spacecraft crashes far from civilization.
Above: The seven original Mercury astronauts at Stead Air Force Base in Nevada, 1960. Some of their clothing is made from parachute material. From left to right: L. Gordon Cooper, M. Scott Carpenter, John Glenn, Alan Shepard, Virgil I. Grissom, Walter Schirra and Donald K. Slayton.
Below: Astronauts participate in tropical survival training at Albrook Air Force Base near the Panama Canal in 1963. From left to right: an unidentified trainer, Neil Armstrong, John H. Glenn, Jr., L. Gordon Cooper and Pete Conrad.
In space, no one wants any surprises. To avoid being caught off guard where no one can hear you scream, every step of every space mission is practiced on the ground (or underwater, or in the air). We take a look back at NASA’s decades of creative methods of astronaut training.
STS 135
Astronaut Rex Walheim practices spacewalking in the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory near NASA’s Johnson Space Center in 2010, in preparation for working on the exterior of the International Space Station. Walheim is the mission specialist for STS-135, the final flight of the space shuttle Atlantis (and the last shuttle flight ever), which took off on July 8
Below: Sandy Magnus, STS-135 mission specialist, gets fitted for her emergency spacesuit on March 29, 2011.
Escaping Gemini
Astronauts John Young (on top of the capsule) and Gus Grissom (in the water) practice escaping from a Gemini capsule in an indoor pool at Ellington Air Force Base, Texas, in this image from 1965. Gemini was NASA’s second human spaceflight program, and included 10 manned flights in 1965 and 1966.
Apollo Moon Landing
Astronauts Eugene Cernan (left), commander, and Astronaut Harrison Schmitt, scientist and lunar module pilot for the Apollo 17 mission, practice collecting samples in this Lunar Roving Vehicle in 1972.
Remote Manipulator System
Above: Crew of STS-61, the shuttle mission that first serviced the Hubble Space Telescope in 1993, practiced steering a dummy astronaut into position using the Remote Manipulator System.
Below: Astronaut Ronald McNair, mission specialist for the STS 41-B mission, trains on the remote manipulator system (RMS) simulator in 1983.
astronauts 