Do astronaut pilots do anything else but fly the spacecraft?

Question

Do astronaut pilots do anything else but fly the spacecraft?

Answer 1

To first sort out some misconceptions: The pilot is very rarely the guy, who flies the spacecraft. That is the primary task of the commander of the mission. The pilot is responsible for managing the various navigation systems and assist the commander. In Russian spacecraft, the pilot job is translated as "flight engineer".

When in space, the pilot and the commander both switch between managing the spacecraft and assisting mission specialists/science astronauts by their experiments.

While many things on a spacecraft are automated, they still need to be monitored, that is one of the most important jobs of the pilot. Also, he manages the resources on-board the spacecraft, for example the power generation. While mission control usually does the calculations for that, his experience is needed when things go wrong - he can react faster to developing problems as mission control.

Answer 2

Some of them have part time jobs at night

as Security Guards at local Shopping Malls.

One lady I knew was a Greeter at a local

Wal Mart Store.

Answer 3

Yes. Flying the spacecraft is not a full-time job for most people.

One of the astronauts sent on the mission to repair the Hubble telescope, Kathy Thornton, is a nuclear physicist by trade. Helen Sharman, the first British astronaut, is (was) an employee of the Mars factory.

Answer 4

of course not!... they also have time for eating, taking a bath,, peeing,, pooing,,,sleeping.. don't say they fly spacecrafts all the time because they would die probably. have you seen a person that do not poo?