Your Chance to be an Astronaut

codewarrior78411 writes "NASA posted a hiring notice for new astronauts Tuesday, on usajobs.com, seeking for the first time in almost 30 years men and women to fly aboard spacecraft other than the shuttle. The agency is seeking 10 to 15 new faces for three to six-month missions aboard the international space station." Requirements include 'Must be a U.S. citizen between 5-foot-2 and 6-foot-3 in height (to squeeze into Russia's three-passenger Soyuz capsule)' 'At least a bachelor's degree in engineering, a biological or physical science, or mathematics' 'three years of relevant professional experience' and most interestingly 'Vision correctable to 20/20. For the first time, the space agency will consider applicants who have undergone successful refractive eye surgery.'

Re:height discrimination!

[UbuntuDupe]

It's not discrimination because you need to be under a certain height in order to fit through certain passage ways and into certain rooms. Since that requirement is objectively tied to be ability to perform the job, it cannot count as discrimination to place that height maximum as a requirement.

This is just like how it's absolutely impossible to do any kind of engineering-related task whatsoever without a 4-year degree from an accredited engineering program, and therefore employers are 100% justified in making that a requirement for engineering jobs and why it's not discrimination and is legal under the ADA and relevant employment law. [/can't say with straight face]

Re:Damn it!

[Billosaur]

I don't think a Psych degree counts... so I'm out of the running; I won't even belabor the fact that I'm not in any kind of shape for it. And no, $60K isn't a lot considering the work an astronaut does. Most astronauts spend their lives trying to make money other ways, with mixed results. The Mercury 7 were blessed in the beginning by having their exclusive contract with Life magazine that supplemented their income, and due to their fame, they received more than their fair share of perks. I don't think astronauts today have it quite so good, which is a shame.

Re:Curious about the vision requirement.

[Anonymous Coward]

Think about contact lenses in an emergency. Glasses in space probably present their own challenges. Glasses in military flying present a challenge. Overcomable, but it's part of the field of vision that I loose.

Direct link to usajobs entry

[Anonymous Coward]

http://jobsearch.usajobs.opm.gov/getjob.asp?JobID=62398554&AVSDM=2007-09-18+00%3A00%3A04&Logo=0&sort=rv&vw=d&brd=3876&ss=0&customapplicant=15513,15514,15515,15669,15523,15512,15516,45575&q=astronaut [opm.gov]

Suggestions

[Overzeetop]

Get a PhD
Get your private pilots license
Get certified in Scuba
Run 10 miles a day, be in good physical shape
Make sure you are comfortable speaking in public, and are fairly good at it
Have diverse interests

Now you've met the real minimum requirements...go have fun!

FFWIW, I considered being an as-can, and know others who were attempting to get selected. Getting into the NBA is a bit easier than getting into to be an astronaut, statistically speaking.

Astronaut? Yes; Go into space? No

[sircastor]

On a radio show called "This American Life", the host Ira Glass interviewed a couple of Astronauts which revealed that most astronauts haven't been in space, and many aren't even scheduled for a flight. So if you enjoy meetings and lots of paperwork, sign up. Yes it gives you a chance to get into space (better than us normal ground-dwellers), but frankly, this isn't the dream that most want it to be.

Re:Curious about the vision requirement.

[sconeu]

I seem to recall a shot of John Young at the controls of STS-1, wearing his reading glasses.

Yep. Here [aboutspace.com] it is.

Re:So why the degree req'mt?

[Jason Levine]

Why not instead start hiring ironworkers and folks who actually know WTF they're doing in high-up construction techniques?

Possibly because "high-up construction techniques" typically involve heights at which gravity is still a major factor and air supply isn't. If you're not careful when building out on the 50th floor, you'll fall to your death rather quickly. You don't typically need anything special to breathe, though.

Much of the building of the ISS takes place on the ground and the space shuttles just deploy the pieces. When the pieces are put together "high-up", the workers don't so much need to worry about falling as they need to worry about suit punctures, navigating in zero-G, drifting away from the site, etc. Stick an iron-worker in a suit in space and he won't know how to connect two pieces of the ISS together. He won't know to be careful of each screw lest it puncture his suit. He won't know half of the things that the astronauts know to stay safe and keep from getting himself killed.