
What Does It Take to Become an Astronaut? - Oxydepth
http://stemmatch.net/blog/2015/december/14/so-you-want-to-become-an-astronaut/
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alain94040
To know what it's really like, as opposed to what movies depict, just read the
transcript of the famous Apollo 13 incident. Remember the movie version? Read
what they _really_ said here
([http://apollo13.spacelog.org/page/02:07:55:19/](http://apollo13.spacelog.org/page/02:07:55:19/)).
For instance:

 _Okay. And we 're looking at our S—SERVICE MODULE RCS HELIUM 1. We have—B is
barber poled and D is barber poled, HELIUM 2, D is barber pole, and SECONDARY
PROPELLANTS, I have A and C barber pole. BMAG temperatures?_

Less dramatic than in the movies. A lot more engineering and detail-oriented.

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sageabilly
That is an incredible read. I'd imagine that a lot of what an astronaut needs
is nerves of steel when something goes wrong. I can't imagine what it was like
in Apollo 13 knowing that something had gone stupendously wrong and if you
didn't make the exact right decisions from that point forward you'd never get
home again, alive or dead.

~~~
Oxydepth
The best part about it is the fact that they actually did make it! Which makes
it all the better. There's a sense of anxiety while reading even if you know
the outcome.

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rdtsc
Even if you become one, you might still never fly. In interviewing for a
company that contracted for NASA and knew some Astronauts, remember them
saying how some have been around for 10+ years and never got to fly.

~~~
mturmon
I've heard the same stories from serious applicants to the astronaut program.
A major problem they cite: living in Houston for N years, doing training,
waiting to fly.

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Animats
NASA still has far more astronauts than they need. They had about 140 at peak.
NASA still has just under 50, despite lacking a launch system. All they do now
is rotate people through the ISS, launching from Russia. Since the Shuttle was
retired, there's not much work in space.

The remaining astronauts get stuck with jobs such as "Lunch with an
Astronaut".[1] It looks like none of the astronauts from the class of 2013
have been in space yet. Being an ex-astronaut is worse. A few years ago, NASA
pulled ex-astronaut passes to NASA Houston, so they can't hang around there
after quitting.

[1] [https://www.kennedyspacecenter.com/things-to-do/lunch-
with-a...](https://www.kennedyspacecenter.com/things-to-do/lunch-with-an-
astronaut.aspx)

~~~
Oxydepth
Thank you for sharing that information Animats. Very relative to the original
post. I haven't read that, so I will make the time to do so.

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praneshp
For anyone interested in this topic/NASA, etc, and doesn't mind using Quora, I
suggest reading the answers of [https://www.quora.com/profile/Robert-
Frost-1](https://www.quora.com/profile/Robert-Frost-1). He's a treasure trove
of information and clearly passionate about the topic.

~~~
reagan83
Off topic: but why would someone mind using Quora? IMHO it's a great service,
but open to hearing opinions on it.

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praneshp
Hey reagan83, sorry, just saw this comment. I've seen some hate on HN for
quora due to their walled services, you need to login (with your real name).

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ufmace
Probably a lot of luck, considering how many qualified applicants there are
likely to be and how many actual positions there are.

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Oxydepth
I think we may be surprised on how many actual qualified applicants there are.
Hard to say though. I wouldn't feel it's an extreme amount. Though, it would
probably be pretty difficult just because, as you said, probably not a ton of
actual positions available.

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Oxydepth
Thanks for that share Alain. I've read the transcript before for a couple of
Apollo missions. Good share.

