Re:Astronaut Selection
by jamesmontalvo3 on Tuesday December 08, 2015 @12:34PM
(#10697908)
The stated minimum requirements and the actual minimum-to-have-a-shot requirements are different, and they are different now than they used to be. Nowadays astronauts training for the ISS need to be generalists capable of doing everything. During the Space Shuttle era astronauts flew for a couple weeks at a time, and they were able to specialize in certain aspects. This meant that some people focused on EVA (spacewaks), some on robotics, some on flying the Shuttle, etc. Now, amongst other things, everyone needs to be EVA-capable, which means everyone needs to be physically capable of operating inside the space suit. I train astronauts to do EVAs, and working inside the space suit is a very physically demanding job.
http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Human_Spaceflight/European...
Being an astronaut sounds pretty cool, but personally I don't even feel very comfortable in a plane, hence sitting in a rocket with 500,000 kg of explosives underneath me is not something I would really consider doing, independent of the fact that it's of course doubtful if I would even physically/psychologically qualify for such a task. I hope though that as I get older space travel will become both safer and more affordable, because I would really love to see our planet from outside its atmosphere, even if just for a minute.