…So You Want To Go To Space? |
By Andy Nimmo. |
| May 17, 1999 NASA is currently accepting applications for mission specialist and pilot astronaut candidates to join the Agency as it enters the era of International Space Station and continues the exploration of space. The deadline to submit an application is July 1, 1999. An application package may be obtained by contacting the Astronaut Selection Office at 281/483-5907, or writing to NASA-Johnson Space Center Astronaut Selection Office, Mail Code AHX, Houston, TX, 77058-3696. Additional information on selection criteria and application forms are available electronically through the Astronaut Selection Office website at http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/ah/jscjobs/aso/ascan.htmTypically, successful applicants for the mission specialist astronaut positions have significant qualifications in engineering or science, while pilot candidates must have extensive piloting experience in high-performance jet aircraft. Following an intensive six-month period of evaluation and interviews, the final selections will be announced in early 2000. Successful applicants will report to the Johnson Space Center in Houston as astronaut candidates in the summer of 2000, to begin more than one-year of training in anticipation of future space flight assignments. "With the on-orbit assembly of the International Space Station underway, this is a very exciting time to be in space. The people we choose to be a part of this era in space will be venturing into new and exciting frontiers," said James D. Wetherbee, director of Flight Crew Operations. "I encourage those who are leaders in their fields and work well on diverse, multi-cultural teams to join us as we move into the new millennium." Applications received after the July 1 cut-off date will not be considered for the 2000 selections but will be considered for the next selection cycle. -end- |
As you can see from the above letter, you still have to be either an engineer or scientist, or a jet pilot with lots of experience if you want to go to space, though at least one journalist has made it so far, and there are now strong signs that the field is about to open up. The first thing you really need to do if you want to go to space is to pick your parents properly before you get born. - If you can figure out a way of doing that, let me know! You'll need to have at least one parent who is one of the following if you want a job in space: an American for preference, or a Russian, a Continental European (not British, the UK Government doesn't put a penny into manned spaceflight, so ESA doesn't see why it should take on UK citizens as future astronauts), a Japanese, or in the near future a Chinese, an Indian, an Israeli or a maybe even a Brazilian. The only real alternative is to get rich enough to either go as a tourist or to set up your own space company. Indeed, this provides a hope even for the Brits. There is a Japanese/UK consortium planning to build a space hotel right now, and if they succeed, even British space job-seekers might find employment up there. So far Space Tourism is very much in its infancy, but this is the field which will open up the future for jobs in space, and for non-technical types as well. There are already at least two companies in the field :- Space Adventures, http://www.spaceadventures.com/ offer zero gravity (weightless) flights and journeys to the outer limits of Earth's atmosphere at the edge of space (70,000 feet high). Those who prefer to stay closer to the ground may pursue the stars in a Space Adventures program that ushers them behind the scenes of a leading Space Observatory, or allows them to build and launch their own rocket with an experienced team of rocket enthusiasts. But the crowning touch will undoubtedly be the sub-orbital flights to 62 miles above the Earth. Zegrahm Space Voyages, http://www.spacevoyages.com/ tell all visitors to their site, "Zegrahm Space Voyages, a division of the Zegrahm Expeditions travel company, is taking reservations for departures that begin July through December, 2002." Space Voyages feature a history-making flight to 100 km above sea level — official "astronaut altitude." Customer reservations are now being taken by Zegrahm, with Saturday and Monday departures beginning July through December, 2002. The price of the all-inclusive 7-day program, of which the spaceflight is a part, is US$98,000 per person. Apart from the space hotel mentioned earlier, several other groups are planning on building these, and once Low Earth Orbit hotels are up there, all sorts of jobs will become available, from space bell-boys to Managers and every post in between. There will also be opportunities in space agriculture, because growing food up there will probably be much cheaper than Shuttling it all up from Earth. Space medical personnel will also be required, both doctors and nurses, particularly for the more minor ailments (and some more unusual - like space sickness) which still need treatment, as it will be less costly to treat folk on the spot than to arrange unscheduled flights to hospitals on Earth. To be sure of such a job prepare now. Start studying your chosen field and go to http://www.spacejobs.com/ and register. If you work in the space field or for a space company here on Earth, your chances of landing a space job, when they become available, will be enhanced. A couple of other space tourism sites you may find of interest are :- http://www.spacefuture.com/ for plenty of data on space tourism, and; http://www.gwu.edu/~spctour/ the Space Tourism Initiative Information Site. Good Luck! |