NASA. What the requirements for becoming an astronaut?

Question

do u have to join the air force first?

can u just skip the air force and become an astronaut?

what r the requirements to become a mission control guy?

Answer 1

Mission Applicants for the Astronaut Candidate Program must be citizens of the United States.

There are 3 categories of Astronauts. We will see one by one.

Commander and Pilot Astronaut

Requirements:

1. Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution in engineering, biological science, physical science, or mathematics. An advanced degree is desirable. Quality of academic preparation is important.

2. At least 1,000 hours pilot-in-command time in jet aircraft. Flight test experience is highly desirable.

3. Ability to pass a NASA space physical which is similar to a military or civilian flight physical and includes the following specific standards:

Distant visual acuity: 20/100 or better uncorrected, correctable to 20/20 each eye.

Blood pressure: 140/90 measured in a sitting position.

Height between 64 and 76 inches.

Mission Specialist Astronaut

1. Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution in engineering, biological science, physical science, or mathematics. Degree must be followed by at least three years of related, progressively responsible, professional experience. An advanced degree is desirable and may be substituted for part or all of the experience requirement (master's degree = 1 year of experience, doctoral degree = 3 years of experience). Quality of academic preparation is important.

2. Ability to pass a NASA space physical, which is similar to a military or civilian flight physical and includes the following specific standards:

Distance visual acuity: 20/200 or better uncorrected, correctable to 20/20, each eye.

Blood pressure: 140/90 measured in a sitting position.

3. Height between 58.5 and 76 inches.

Payload Specialists

First consideration for additional crew members is given to qualified NASA mission specialists. When payload specialists are required they are nominated by NASA, the foreign sponsor, or the designated payload sponsor. In the case of NASA or NASA-related payloads, the nominations are based on the recommendations of the appropriate Investigator Working Group (IWG).

Although payload specialists are not part of the Astronaut Candidate Program, they must have the appropriate education and training related to the payload or experiment. All applicants must meet certain physical requirements and must pass NASA space physical examinations with varying standards depending on classification.

To find out more about the requirements for becoming a NASA Astronaut, please visit the links below.

http://www.nasajobs.nasa.gov/astronauts/...

http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/

http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/outreach/job...