NASA picks 12 new astronauts from crush of applicants | Hacker News Reader

NASA picks 12 new astronauts from crush of applicants

phys.org

21 pointsdnetesn15 comments

How soon until private companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin begin taking "Astronaut" applications on their own careers page?

A while. For now, SpaceX's passengers are all contracted passengers launched on behalf of third parties; none of them are SpaceX employees being launched on SpaceX missions. Possibly for future systems like the ITS SpaceX will need in-space maintenance and engineering staff.

I've always wanted to be an astronaut but alas, you must be a strong swimmer (for training and misc. events purposes). Note to all, always get your kids to take swimming lessons...

Are you sure?

> Requirements include U.S. citizenship; degrees in science, technology, engineering or math; and at least three years of experience or 1,000 hours of piloting jets.

So in addition to swimming also teach your kids jet flying.

Actually, IMO, you can and should learn how to fly when you are an adult. Learning to swim well is actually quite difficult. It's like learning to play piano when you're older.

sorry to kill your dreams...

> As part of the Astronaut Candidate training program, candidates are required to complete military water survival before beginning their flying syllabus, and become SCUBA qualified to prepare them for spacewalk training. Consequently, all Astronaut Candidates are required to pass a swimming test during their first month of training. They must swim 3 lengths of a 25-meter pool without stopping, and then swim 3 lengths of the pool in a flight suit and tennis shoes with no time limit. They must also tread water continuously for 10 minutes wearing a flight suit.

Source: https://www.nasa.gov/centers/johnson/pdf/606877main_FS-2011-...

I'm actually Canadian and when I looked into applying for CSA, they stated the requirement was a strong swimmer. They did some drills in the Atlantic.

I feel like this is a very minor physical feat compared to the other attributes I'd expect a strong astronaut candidate to exhibit.

As in, this shouldn't be a barrier to anyone who really wants to be an astronaut.

75 meters is a strong swimmer?

> military water survival

http://www.businessinsider.com/photos-of-militarys-combat-wa...

I think the 75 m is just a fitness test kind of thing that everyone should be able to pass

> and become SCUBA qualified to prepare them

Uh, sorry, but there's no such qualification!

There are may "qualifications", from the amateur PADI (of which I have a couple of grades), to BSAC 1st class (probably the most stringent and disciplined of qualifications, despite technically being an amateur club); but "SCUBA qualified" is not one of them.

I have no idea of any of the qualifications. I simply copied the quote from the NASA source in my comment. Why don't you bring it up with NASA?

So you blindly quote something that you have no clue about, then snark when you get called out on it?

Schmuck.

> "Under President Donald Trump, America will lead in space once again, and the world will marvel," he said.

"Making Space Great Again ?" Space exploration is about Mankind, not nations.

I tend to just filter out phrases like that when I'm reading. I agree with your premise but as long as there's government funding involved, in any project that's guaranteed to get attention, someone is going to realize that it's advantageous to kill two birds with one stone by steering the positive press towards their party.

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