Astronaut Bruce McCandless II using a manned maneuvering unit outside the U. Captain Bruce McCandless II (born June 8 1937 in Boston Massachusetts) is a former Naval aviator with the United States Navy and NASA A Manned Maneuvering Unit ( MMU) is a Rocket pack ( propulsion Backpack that snaps onto the back of the Spacesuit) which has been used S. Space Shuttle Challenger in 1984

An astronaut or cosmonaut (Russian: космона́вт Russian pronunciation: [kəsmɐˈnaft]) is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft. NASA 's Space Shuttle, officially called the Space Transportation System ( STS) is the Spacecraft currently used by the United States Space Shuttle Challenger ( NASA Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-099 was NASA's second Space Shuttle orbiter to be put into service Russian ( transliteration:,) is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages For a chronological list of human spaceflights including crews A spacecraft is a Vehicle or machine designed for Spaceflight.

While generally reserved for professional space travelers, the term is sometimes applied to anyone who travels into space, including scientists, politicians, journalists, and tourists. ^[1][2]

Definition

Countries whose citizens have flown in space as of April 2008

Until 2003, astronauts were sponsored and trained exclusively by governments, either by the military, or by civilian space agencies. Since the first Human spaceflight by the Soviet Union, citizens of 39 countries have flown in space However, with the first sub-orbital flight of the privately-funded SpaceShipOne in 2004, a new category of astronaut was created: the commercial astronaut. SpaceShipOne is a Spaceplane that completed the first privately funded Human spaceflight on June 21, 2004. A commercial astronaut is a person trained to command pilot or serve as a crew member of a privately-funded Spacecraft. With the rise of space tourism, NASA and the Russian Federal Space Agency agreed to use the term "spaceflight participant" to distinguish those space travelers from astronauts on missions coordinated by those two agencies. Space tourism is the recent Phenomenon of tourists paying for flights into space pioneered by Russia The National Aeronautics and Space Administration ( NASA, ˈnæsə is an agency of the United States government, responsible for the nation's public space program The Russian Federal Space Agency ( Russian: Федеральное космическое агентство России Federal'noe kosmicheskoe agentstvo Rossii Spaceflight participant (uchastnik kosmicheskovo poleta is a term used by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA and the Russian Federal Space Agency

The criteria for what constitutes human spaceflight vary. A human spaceflight is a Spaceflight with a human crew, and possibly passengers The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) defines spaceflight as any flight above an altitude of 100 kilometers (62 mi). The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI is the world governing body for Air sports and Aeronautics and Astronautics world records However, in the United States, professional, military, and commercial astronauts who travel above an altitude of 80 kilometers (50 mi) are awarded astronaut wings. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The Astronaut Badge is a Badge of the United States, awarded to military and civilian pilots who have completed training and performed a successful

As of May 31, 2008, a total of 482 humans from 39 countries^[3] have reached 100km or more in altitude, of which 479 reached Low Earth orbit or beyond. Events 1279 BC - Rameses II (The Great (19th dynasty becomes pharaoh of Ancient Egypt. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Since the first Human spaceflight by the Soviet Union, citizens of 39 countries have flown in space A Low Earth Orbit (LEO is generally defined as an Orbit within the locus extending from the Earth’s surface up to an altitude of 2000 km ^[4][5] Of these, 24 people have traveled beyond Low Earth orbit, to either lunar or trans-lunar orbit or to the surface of the moon; three of the 24 did so twice (Lovell, Young and Cernan). This is a list of all Astronauts directly associated with NASA 's Apollo program. ^[6] Under the U. S. definition, 488 people qualify as having reached space. ^[7] Space travelers have spent over 30,400 person-days (or a cumulative total of over 83 years) in space, including over 100 astronaut-days of spacewalks. Extra-vehicular activity ( EVA) is work done by an Astronaut away from the Earth and outside of a Spacecraft. ^[7][8] As of 2008, the man with the longest time in space is Sergei K. Krikalev, who has spent 803 days, 9 hours and 39 minutes, or 2. 2 years, in space. ^[9][10] Peggy A. Whitson holds the record for most time in space by a woman, with 377 days spent in space. Peggy Annette Whitson (born 9 February 1960) is an American Biochemistry researcher and a NASA Astronaut. ^[11]

Terminology

See also: Astronaut ranks and positions

In the United States and many other English-speaking nations, a professional space traveler is called an astronaut. Astronauts hold a variety of ranks and positions and each of these roles carries unique responsibilities that are integral to the successful operation of a spacecraft English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States The term derives from the Greek words ástron (άστρον), meaing "star", and nautes (ναύτης), meaning "sailor". The first known use of the term "astronaut" in the modern sense was by Neil R. Jones in his short story The Death's Head Meteor in 1930. Neil Ronald Jones ( 29 May, 1909 - 15 February, 1988) was an American author who worked for the state of New York. The word itself had been known earlier. For example, in Percy Greg's 1880 book Across the Zodiac, "astronaut" referred to a spacecraft. Percy Greg (1836 Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk - 24 December 1889, Chelsea) son of William Rathbone Greg, was an English In Les Navigateurs de l'Infini (1925) of J.-H. Rosny aîné, the word astronautique (astronautic) was used. J-H Rosny aîné was the Pseudonym of Joseph Henri Honoré Boex ( February 17, 1856 - February 11, 1940) a French author The word may have been inspired by "aeronaut", an older term for an air traveler first applied (in 1784) to balloonists. "Ballooning" redirects here For the behavior of Spiders and other Arthropods see Ballooning (spider.

NASA applies the term astronaut to any crew member aboard NASA spacecraft bound for Earth orbit or beyond. NASA also uses the term as a title for those selected to join its Astronaut Corps. ^[12]

Russia

Main article: Soviet space program

Yuri Gagarin, first person in space (1961) (USSR)

By convention, an astronaut employed by the Russian Federal Space Agency (or its Soviet predecessor) is called a cosmonaut in English texts. The Soviet space program consisted of initiatives within the Soviet Union by competing design groups The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 The Russian Federal Space Agency ( Russian: Федеральное космическое агентство России Federal'noe kosmicheskoe agentstvo Rossii The Soviet space program consisted of initiatives within the Soviet Union by competing design groups ^[12] The word is an anglicisation of the Russian word kosmonavt (космонавт, pronounced [kəsmʌˈnaft]), which in turn derives from the Greek words kosmos (κόσμος), meaning "universe", and nautes (ναύτης), meaning "sailor". Anglicisation or anglicization (see -ise vs -ize) is a process of conversion of verbal or written elements of any other language into a more comprehensible English Russian ( transliteration:,) is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly For the most part, "cosmonaut" and "astronaut" are synonyms in all languages, and the usage of choice is often dictated by political reasons.

On March 14, 1995, Norman Thagard became the first American to ride to space on board a Russian launch vehicle, arguably becoming the first "American cosmonaut" in the process. Events 1489 - The Queen of Cyprus, Catherine Cornaro, sells her kingdom to Venice. Year 1995 ( MCMXCV) was a Common year starting on Sunday. Events of 1995 Norman Earl Thagard (born July 3 1943 is an American scientist and former NASA Astronaut.

China

In China, the terms "yǔhángyuán" (宇航员) or "hángtiānyuán" (航天员) have long been used for astronauts. The phrase "tàikōng rén" (太空人, literally "space person") is often used in Taiwan and Hong Kong. Official English texts issued by the government of the People's Republic of China use astronaut while texts in Russian use kosmonavt. Talk People's Republic of China) PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA ARTICLE GUIDELINES ^[13][14] The term taikonaut is used by some English-language news media organizations for professional space travelers from China. The space program of China was initiated soon after the founding of the PRC. The origin of the term is unclear; as early as May 1998, Chiew Lee Yih (赵里昱) from Malaysia, used it in newsgroups, while Chen Lan, almost simultaneously, used it in Western media. For the biogeographical region see Malesia Malaysia (məˈleɪʒə or /məˈleɪziə/ is a country that consists of thirteen states and A newsgroup is a Repository usually within the Usenet system for messages posted from many users in different locations

Other terms

While no nation other than Russia (formerly the Soviet Union), the United States, and China has launched a manned spacecraft, several other nations have sent people into space in cooperation with one of these countries. Inspired partly by these missions, other synonyms for astronaut have entered occasional English usage. For example, the term spationaut (French spelling: spationaute) is sometimes used to describe French space travelers, from the Latin word spatium or "space", and the Malaysian term angkasawan is used to describe participants in the Angkasawan program. Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. The Angkasawan program was an initiative by the Malaysian government to send a Malaysian to the International Space Station on board Soyuz TMA-11

Space travel milestones

See also: Spaceflight records and Timeline of space travel by nationality

Valentina Tereshkova, first woman in space (1963) (USSR)

Alan Shepard aboard Freedom 7

The first human in space was Russian Yuri Gagarin, who was launched into space on April 12, 1961 aboard Vostok 1. This is a list of spaceflight records. Most of these records relate to Human spaceflights but some unmanned and canine records are included Since the first Human spaceflight by the Soviet Union, citizens of 39 countries have flown in space Valentina Vladimirovna Tereshkova (Валенти́на Влади́мировна Терешко́ва born 6 March 1937) is a retired Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 Alan Bartlett Shepard Jr (November 18 1923 &ndash July 21 1998 ( Rear Admiral, USN Ret Mercury-Redstone 3 was a US Mercury program human crewed space mission launched on May 5, 1961 using a Redstone rocket Events 467 - Anthemius is elevated to Emperor of the Western Roman Empire. Year 1961 ( MCMLXI) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Vostok 1 (Восток-1 meaning Orient -1 or East-1 was the first Human spaceflight. The first woman was Russian Valentina Tereshkova, launched into space in June 1963 aboard Vostok 6. Valentina Vladimirovna Tereshkova (Валенти́на Влади́мировна Терешко́ва born 6 March 1937) is a retired Soviet Vostok 6 was the first Human spaceflight mission to carry a woman cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova, into space

Alan Shepard became the first American and second person in space on May 5, 1961, while the first American woman in space was Sally Ride, during Space Shuttle Challenger's mission STS-7, on June 18, 1983. Alan Bartlett Shepard Jr (November 18 1923 &ndash July 21 1998 ( Rear Admiral, USN Ret Events 553 - The Second Council of Constantinople begins 1215 - Rebel Barons renounce their allegiance to King John Year 1961 ( MCMLXI) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Sally Kristen Ride (born May 26, 1951) is an American Physicist and a former NASA Astronaut who in 1983 became the first American Space Shuttle Challenger ( NASA Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-099 was NASA's second Space Shuttle orbiter to be put into service STS-7 was a Space shuttle mission by NASA using the Space Shuttle ''Challenger'', launched June 18, 1983. Events 618 - Coronation of the Chinese governor Li Yuan as Emperor Gaozu of Tang, the new Emperor of China, initiating three centuries Year 1983 ( MCMLXXXIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1983 Gregorian calendar) ^[15]

The first mission to orbit the moon was Apollo 8, which included William Anders who was born in Hong Kong, making him the first Asian-born astronaut in 1968. William Alison Anders (born October 17, 1933) is a former United States Air Force officer and NASA Astronaut. Hong Kong ( officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, is a territory located on China 's south coast on the Pearl River Delta, and borders On 15 October 2003, Yang Liwei became China's first astronaut on the Shenzhou 5 spacecraft. Events 533 - Byzantine General Belisarius makes his formal entry into Carthage, having conquered it from the Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. Yáng Lìwěi ( (born June 21, 1965) is a Chinese major general and military pilot and a CNSA Astronaut. Shenzhou 5 ( — was the first Human spaceflight mission of the People's Republic of China (PRC launched on October 15, 2003

The Soviet Union, through its Intercosmos program, allowed people from other socialist countries to fly on its missions. The Intercosmos ("ИнтерКосмос" Interkosmos) was a space exploration program run by the Soviet Union to allow members from military forces of allied Socialism refers to a broad set of economic theories of social organization advocating state or collective ownership and administration of the Means of production and distribution An example is Vladimir Remek, a Czechoslovak, who became the first non-Soviet European in space in 1978 on a Russian Soyuz rocket. Vladimír Remek (born 26 September 1948) is the first Czechoslovak in space (son of Czech mother and Slovak father and the first Cosmonaut Czechoslovakia may also refer to what is now the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The Soyuz launch vehicle (Western designation A-2 is an Expendable launch system manufactured by TsSKB-Progress in Samara Russia. ^[16] On July 23, 1980, Pham Tuan of Vietnam became the first Asian in space when he flew aboard Soyuz 37. Events 1632 - Three hundred colonists bound for New France depart from Dieppe France. Year 1980 ( MCMLXXX) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1980 Gregorian calendar) Phạm Tuân, Hero of the Soviet Union (born February 14, 1947) was the first Vietnamese Cosmonaut and by extension he was also the Vietnam (ˌviːɛtˈnɑːm Việt Nam) officially Asian or Asiatic is a Demonym for people from Asia. However the use of the term varies by country and person often referring to people from a particular Crew Number in parentheses indicates number of spaceflights by each individual prior to and including this mission ^[17] Also in 1980, Cuban Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez became the first person of African descent to fly in space (the first person born in Africa to fly in space was Patrick Baudry, in 1985). Cubans (Cubanos are people inhabiting or originating from Cuba. Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez (born January 29, 1942) was the first Cuban Cosmonaut and the first person from a country in the Western Hemisphere Patrick Pierre Roger Baudry (born March 6, 1946 in Cameroon, then a French colony is a retired Lieutenant Colonel French Air Force and was ^[18][19] In 1988, Abdul Ahad Mohmand became the first Afghan to reach space, spending nine days aboard the Mir space station. Abdul Ahad Mohmand ( Pashto: عبدالاحد مومند, born January 1, 1959) became the first Astronaut (or Cosmonaut Afghanistan /æfˈgænɪstæn/ officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan ( Pashto: د افغانستان اسلامي جمهوریت, Mir (Мир which can mean both Peace and World, and was the name given to peasant communes in pre-revolutionary Russia was a Soviet (and ^[20]

With the larger number of seats available on the Space Shuttle, the U. S. began taking international astronauts. In April 1985, Taylor Wang became the first Chinese-born person in space; later that year, Rodolfo Neri Vela became the first Mexican-born person in space. Taylor Gun-Jin Wang ( (born June 16, 1940) is an American scientist and in 1985 became the first ethnic Chinese person to go into space Rodolfo Neri Vela (born 19 February 1952) is a Mexican Scientist who flew aboard a NASA Space Shuttle mission in 1985 ^[21][22][23] In 1991, Helen Sharman became the first Briton to fly in space. Helen Patricia Sharman, OBE, (born 30 May 1963) is a British chemist ^[24] In 2002, Mark Shuttleworth became the first citizen of an African country to fly in space, as a paying spaceflight participant. Mark Richard Shuttleworth (born 18 September 1973) is a South African Entrepreneur who was the second self-funded Space tourist and ^[25]

Age milestones

The youngest person to fly in space is Russian Gherman Titov, who was 25 years old when he flew Vostok 2. Gherman Stepanovich Titov (Герман Степанович Титов ( September 11, 1935 &ndash September 20, 2000) was a Soviet Vostok 2 was a Soviet space mission which carried cosmonaut Gherman Titov into orbit for a full day in order to study the effects of (Titov was also the first person to suffer space sickness). Space adaptation syndrome (SAS or space sickness, is a condition experienced by around half of Space travelers during adaptation to Microgravity. ^[26][27] The oldest person who has flown in space is John Glenn, who was 77 when he flew on STS-95. John Herschel Glenn Jr (born July 18 1921 in Cambridge Ohio) is a former United States Senator who first rose to fame as the first American to Orbit STS-95 was a mission of the Space Shuttle ''Discovery'' that launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida on October 29 1998 ^[28] The longest stay in space was 438 days, by Russian Valeri Polyakov. Valeriy Vladimirovich Polyakov (Валерий Владимирович Поляков Valeriy Vladmirovich Polyakov) (born April 27, 1942) is a Russian ^[7] As of 2006, the most spaceflights by an individual astronaut is seven, a record held by both Jerry L. Ross and Franklin Chang-Diaz. Jerry Lynn Ross ( January 20 1948, Crown Point Indiana) is a United States Air Force officer and a NASA Astronaut. Franklin Ramón Chang-Díaz ( born 5 April 1950) is a Costa Rican American physicist and former NASA Astronaut The furthest distance from Earth an astronaut has traveled was 401,056 km, during the Apollo 13 emergency. ^[7]

Non-government milestones

The first non-governmental space traveler was Byron K. Lichtenberg, a researcher from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who flew on STS-9 in 1983. Byron Kurt Lichtenberg Sc D (Born February 19, 1948 in Stroudsburg Pennsylvania) is an American Engineer who flew aboard two STS-9 (also known as STS-41A (Spacelab 1 was the 6th mission of the Space Shuttle ''Columbia'' It was Columbia's last flight until early January of 1986 ^[29] In December 1990, Toyohiro Akiyama became the first paying space traveler as a reporter for Tokyo Broadcasting System, a visit to Mir as part of an estimated $12 million (USD) deal with a Japanese TV station, although at the time, the term used to refer to Akiyama was "Research Cosmonaut". Toyohiro Akiyama (秋山豊寛 Akiyama Toyohiro, born July 22, 1942) is a Japanese TV journalist best known For other uses see TBS. ( or TBS, is a Television network in Tokyo, Japan. Mir (Мир which can mean both Peace and World, and was the name given to peasant communes in pre-revolutionary Russia was a Soviet (and The United States dollar ( sign: $; code: USD) is the unit of Currency of the United States; it has also been ^[30][31][32] Akiyama suffered severe space-sickness during his mission, which affected his productivity. ^[31]

The first self-funded space tourist was Dennis Tito onboard the Russian spacecraft Soyuz TM-3 on 28 April 2001. Space tourism is the recent Phenomenon of tourists paying for flights into space pioneered by Russia Dennis Anthony Tito (born August 8, 1940 in Queens, New York) is a United States multimillionaire who gained celebrity status by becoming Events 1192 - Assassination of Conrad of Montferrat (Conrad I King of Jerusalem, in Tyre, two days after his title Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar.

Self-funded travelers

Main article: Space tourist

The first person to fly on an entirely privately-funded mission was Mike Melvill, piloting SpaceShipOne flight 15P on a sub-orbital journey, although he was a test pilot employed by Scaled Composites and not an actual paying space tourist. Space tourism is the recent Phenomenon of tourists paying for flights into space pioneered by Russia Michael Winston "Mike" Melvill (born November 11, 1940) is one of the Test pilots for SpaceShipOne, the experimental Spaceplane Flight 15P of SpaceShipOne was the first privately-funded Human spaceflight. Test pilots are Aviators who fly new and modified Aircraft in specific maneuvers allowing the results to be measured and the design to be evaluated Scaled Composites (often abbreviated as Scaled) formerly the Rutan Aircraft Factory, is a company currently owned by Northrop Grumman that is located ^[33][34]. Five others have paid to fly into space:

1. Dennis Tito (American): April 28 – May 6, 2001
2. Mark Shuttleworth (South African / British): April 25 – May 5, 2002 (ISS)
3. Gregory Olsen (American): October 1 – October 11, 2005 (ISS)
4. Anousheh Ansari (Iranian / American): September 18 – September 29, 2006 (ISS)
5. Charles Simonyi (Hungarian / American): April 7 – April 21, 2007 (ISS)

Training

See also: Astronaut ranks and positions

The first NASA astronauts were selected in 1959. Dennis Anthony Tito (born August 8, 1940 in Queens, New York) is a United States multimillionaire who gained celebrity status by becoming Events 1192 - Assassination of Conrad of Montferrat (Conrad I King of Jerusalem, in Tyre, two days after his title Events 1527 - Spanish and German troops sack Rome; some consider this the end of the Renaissance. Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar. Mark Richard Shuttleworth (born 18 September 1973) is a South African Entrepreneur who was the second self-funded Space tourist and Events 1607 - Eighty Years' War: The Dutch fleet destroys the anchored Spanish fleet at Gibraltar. Events 553 - The Second Council of Constantinople begins 1215 - Rebel Barons renounce their allegiance to King John See also 2002 (disambiguation Year 2002 ( MMII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. Gregory Hammond "Greg" Olsen (born April 20, 1945) is an American entrepreneur and scientist who in October 2005, became the third Events 331 BC - Alexander the Great defeats Darius III of Persia in the Battle of Gaugamela. Events 1138 - A massive earthquake struck Aleppo, Syria. 1531 - Huldrych Zwingli is killed Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Anousheh Ansari (انوشه انصاری born 12 September 1966) is the Iranian-American co-founder and chairman of Prodea Systems, Inc and Events 96 - Nerva is proclaimed Roman Emperor after Domitian is assassinated Events 522 BC - Darius I of Persia kills the Magian usurper Gaumâta securing his hold as king of the Persian Empire. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Charles Simonyi (Simonyi Károly born September 10 1948 is a Hungarian Computer software executive who as head of Microsoft 's application software Events 529 - First draft of Corpus Juris Civilis (a fundamental work in Jurisprudence) is issued by Eastern Roman Emperor Events 753 BC - Romulus and Remus found Rome ( traditional date) Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Astronauts hold a variety of ranks and positions and each of these roles carries unique responsibilities that are integral to the successful operation of a spacecraft ^[35] Early in the space program, military jet test piloting and engineering training were often cited as prerequisites for selection as an astronaut at NASA, although neither John Glenn nor Scott Carpenter (of the Mercury Seven) had any university degree, in engineering or any other discipline at the time of their selection. The Mercury Seven was the group of seven Mercury astronauts picked by NASA on April 9, 1959. Selection was initially limited to military pilots. ^[36][37] The earliest astronauts for both America and Russia tended to be jet fighter pilots, and were often test pilots. Test pilots are Aviators who fly new and modified Aircraft in specific maneuvers allowing the results to be measured and the design to be evaluated

Once selected, NASA astronauts go through 20 months of training in a variety of areas, including training for extra-vehicular activity in a facility such as NASA's Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory. Extra-vehicular activity ( EVA) is work done by an Astronaut away from the Earth and outside of a Spacecraft. The Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL is an Astronaut training facility located at the Sonny Carter Training Facility and maintained by NASA 's ^[1][36] Astronauts-in-training may also experience short periods of weightlessness in aircraft called the "vomit comet", the nickname given to a pair of modified KC-135s (retired in 2000 and 2004 respectively, and replaced in 2005 with a C-9) which perform parabolic flights. Weightlessness is a phenomenon experienced by people during Free-fall. Vomit Comet is a nickname for any Airplane that briefly provides a nearly weightless environment in which to train Astronauts conduct research and WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout In Mathematics, the parabola (pəˈræbələ from the Greek παραβολή) is a Conic section, the intersection of a right circular ^[35] Astronauts are also required to accumulate a number of flight hours in high-performance jet aircraft. This is mostly done in T-38 jet aircraft out of Ellington Field, due to its proximity to the Johnson Space Center. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout Ellington Field is a joint civil-military Airport located 15 miles (24 km) southeast of downtown Houston, within Harris County in The Lyndon B Johnson Space Flight Center ( "JSFC") is the National Aeronautics and Space Administration 's center for Ellington Field is also where the Shuttle Training Aircraft is maintained and developed, although most flights of the aircraft are done out of Edwards Air Force Base. The Shuttle Training Aircraft (STA is a NASA training vehicle that duplicates the Space Shuttle 's approach profile and handling qualities allowing Edwards Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located on the border of Kern County and Los Angeles County California in the Antelope

NASA candidacy requirements

• Be citizens of the United States. ^[38][35]
• Pass a strict physical examination, and have a distant visual acuity no worse than 20/50 uncorrected, correctable to 20/20. Blood pressure, while sitting, must be no greater than 140 over 90.

Commander and Pilot

• A bachelor's degree in engineering, biological science, physical science or mathematics is required, and a graduate degree is desired, although not essential. A bachelor's degree is usually an Undergraduate Academic degree awarded for a course or major that generally lasts for three four or in some cases and Engineering is the Discipline and Profession of applying technical and scientific Knowledge and Foundations of modern biology There are five unifying principles Physics (Greek Physis - φύσις in everyday terms is the Science of Matter and its motion. Mathematics is the body of Knowledge and Academic discipline that studies such concepts as Quantity, Structure, Space and A degree is any of a wide range of status levels conferred by institutions of Higher education, such as universities, normally as the result of successfully completing
• At least 1,000 hours flying time in jet aircraft, and experience as a test pilot is desirable. Test pilots are Aviators who fly new and modified Aircraft in specific maneuvers allowing the results to be measured and the design to be evaluated
• Height must be 5 ft 4 in to 6 ft 4 in (1. 63 to 1. 93 m).

Mission Specialist

• Bachelor's degree in engineering, biological science, physical science or mathematics, as well as at least three years of related professional experience.
• Applicant's height must be 5 ft 2 in to 6 ft 4 in (1. 57 to 1. 93 m).

Mission Specialist Educator

Mission Specialist Educators Lindenberger, Arnold, and Acaba during a parabolic flight.

Main article: Educator Astronaut Project

• Bachelor's degree with teaching experience, including work at the kindergarten through 12th grade level. The Educator Astronaut Project is a NASA program designed to educate students and spur excitement in Math, Science, and Space exploration. Advanced degree not required, but is desired. ^[39]

Mission Specialist Educators, or "Educator Astronauts", were first selected in 2004, and as of 2007, there are three NASA Educator astronauts: Joseph M. Acaba, Richard R. Arnold, and Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger. The Educator Astronaut Project is a NASA program designed to educate students and spur excitement in Math, Science, and Space exploration. Joseph Michael "Joe" Acaba (born May 17, 1967) is a Puerto Rican-American Teacher, Hydrogeologist, and NASA For other people of the same name see Richard Arnold. Richard Robert II "Ricky" Arnold (born November 26, 1963 Dorothy Marie "Dottie" Metcalf-Lindenburger was born on May 2, 1975 in Colorado Springs Colorado and married Jason Metcalf-Lindenburger a seventh ^[40][41] Barbara Morgan, selected as back-up teacher to Christa McAuliffe in 1985, is considered to be the first Educator astronaut by the media, but she trained as a mission specialist. Barbara Radding "Barb" Morgan (born November 28, 1951) is an American Teacher and a former NASA Astronaut. Sharon Christa Corrigan McAuliffe ( September 2, 1948 – January 28, 1986) was an American teacher from Concord New Hampshire ^[42] The Educator Astronaut program is a successor to the Teacher in Space program from the 1980s. The Teacher in Space Project ( TISP) began as a NASA program announced by President Ronald Reagan on August 27 1984 ^[43][38]

Insignia

At NASA, people who complete astronaut candidate training receive a silver lapel pin. The Astronaut Badge is a Badge of the United States, awarded to military and civilian pilots who have completed training and performed a successful Once they have flown in space, they receive a gold pin. U. S. astronauts who also have active-duty military status receive a special qualification badge, known as the Astronaut Badge, after participation on a spaceflight. The Astronaut Badge is a Badge of the United States, awarded to military and civilian pilots who have completed training and performed a successful The United States Air Force also presents an Astronaut Badge to its pilots who exceed 50 miles (80 km) in altitude.

Deaths

So far, 18 astronauts have lost their lives in in connection with spaceflights. 14 of them were American and four were Russian.

See also

References

External links

• NASA: How to become an astronaut 101
• List of International partnership organizations
• Encyclopaedia Britannica, Austronaut
• Encyclopedia Astronautica: Phantom cosmonauts
• collectSPACE: Astronaut appearances calendar
• spacefacts Spacefacts.de
• Space and Astronautics News
• Manned astronautics: facts and figures