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Astronaut Selection
- Cyph0n 11y agoOn a related note, there is an excellent anime series on what it takes to become an astronaut called "Space Brothers" [1]. It's about two brothers, the younger becomes a NASA astronaut, while the older tries to catch up by applying to join JAXA (Japanese space agency). It's quite accurate in its portrayal of qualifying examinations and tests, yet still is entertaining to watch. [1]: http://myanimelist.net/anime/12431/Uchuu_Kyoudai http://myanimelist.net/anime/12431/Uchuu_Kyoudai
- Danieru 11y agoBoth brothers are JAXA astronauts. But yes, double recommend. It is a prime time anime so do not expect something as adult-like as what you watched in University. Over all a great show with good characters.
- Cyph0n 11y agoOh my bad it's been quite some time. I agree, it's definitely not a deep anime.
- lmm 11y agoI found it very slow and dull. My group gave up when we accidentally skipped an episode and didn't realize.
- Cyph0n 11y agoOh come on don't tell me you didn't at least enjoy the tests done by JAXA? The traitor one was really interesting.
- lmm 11y agoDidn't get that far. Dropped it around 10 or 11 (just after the bus journey). 5 hours is more than enough of a chance to give a series.
- fennecfoxen 11y ago> 5 hours is more than enough of a chance to give a series. Five hours is more than enough. Five hours is enough time for the writers to take a genre, deconstruct it, salt the earth, collect all the pieces in one place and build a bonfire, dance around the flames thrice widdershins while invoking ancient and mysterious rites, take off and nuke the site from orbit (just to be sure)... and finally, on the site of the wreck, rebuild it all again more beautiful than it had ever been, in the process winning every award in the book and forever altering the future of the genre. But then, maybe I've just been utterly spoiled by Puella Magi Madoka Magica (12 episodes, 300m). :b
- Cyph0n 11y agoIt depends on the subject matter to be frank. If you like concise anime with deep plots, check out Flowers of Evil.
- TeMPOraL 11y agoI guess I'm a very impatient man. I gave up around the second episode.
- lmm 11y agoMadoka you should give three episodes; that's the point at which it starts to come together.
- fennecfoxen 11y ago... of Madoka? Makes sense. The first two-and-three-quarter episodes deliberately conformed to the banal clichés of the genre, as a trap to snare unwary tween girls into thinking there would be lots of happiness and sparkles, instead of death, angst, pain, death, and more death. :P
- herbig 11y agoThe reveal where he was a ghost the whole time was incredible.
- sithadmin 11y agoI found the animated show to be unwatchable, but really enjoy the manga. Probably because it was very easy to plow through the less interesting parts quickly.
- mcguire 11y ago...that would be pretty much spot on.
- ThePhysicist 11y agoThe ESA had a similar program in 2008, but the next round has not been announced yet it seems: http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Human_Spaceflight/European_Astronaut_Selection http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Human_Spaceflight/European... Being an astronaut sounds pretty cool, but personally I don't even feel very comfortable in a plane, hence sitting in a rocket with 500,000 kg of explosives underneath me is not something I would really consider doing, independent of the fact that it's of course doubtful if I would even physically/psychologically qualify for such a task. I hope though that as I get older space travel will become both safer and more affordable, because I would really love to see our planet from outside its atmosphere, even if just for a minute.
- jamesmontalvo3 11y agoThe stated minimum requirements and the actual minimum-to-have-a-shot requirements are different, and they are different now than they used to be. Nowadays astronauts training for the ISS need to be generalists capable of doing everything. During the Space Shuttle era astronauts flew for a couple weeks at a time, and they were able to specialize in certain aspects. This meant that some people focused on EVA (spacewaks), some on robotics, some on flying the Shuttle, etc. Now, amongst other things, everyone needs to be EVA-capable, which means everyone needs to be physically capable of operating inside the space suit. I train astronauts to do EVAs, and working inside the space suit is a very physically demanding job.
- Kenji 11y agoI wonder how they screen mental health and what the requirements are related to that. Being out there can be a psychological strain.
- mattlutze 11y agoFrom the experts themselves: http://www.space.com/26799-nasa-astronauts-psychological-evaluation.html http://www.space.com/26799-nasa-astronauts-psychological-eva...
- markusbrutus 11y agoIts high time that humanity moved past the notion that sending meatbags into space is a good idea. Pampering to Star Trek fans has squandered trillions of dollars pursuing the "meatbags in space" chimera and all they have to show for is a crammed toilet in LEO (soon to be decommissioned since all the "bubbles in space" experiments than 10 year-olds can conceive have been carried out) and the abominable space shuttle. Had robotic exploration being pursued instead we would have had thriving Lunar and perhaps asteroid belt mining by now. What's more, at this point it would have made economic sense and it would create wealth rather than destroy it. Some grandiose ideas are fun but they get you nowhere, and leave you worse off as they represent a gigantic misallocation of capital. The Pyramids for instance, did not propel humanity in an era of skyscraper building.
- jacquesm 11y agoJuly 1st 1492: It's high time that humanity moved past the notion that sending meatbags onto the oceans is a good idea. Pampering to fans of stories about shorter routes to Asia has squandered a great many dubloons pursuing the 'meatbags on the waves' chimera and all we have to show for it is a severe case of scurvy and a bunch of rotten timber. We already know how to get to Asia overland, why on earth would we bother finding a longer, more dangerous and probably slower route around the other side. Besides, everybody knows the Earth is flat. Some grandiose ideas are fun but they get you nowhere and leave you worse off as they represent a gigantic mis-allocation of capital.
- markusbrutus 11y agoRelying on analogies to guide one's thinking is so common and so wrong, I guess there must be some Latin phrase to describe it. Plus, as I am sure you are aware, the attempted analogy is broken on more points than I care to enumerate.
- jacquesm 11y agoIt's a friendly way of telling you that your position is bull-shit. Not everything we as humanity can do should be looked at through the lens of immediate utility. If that point passed you by then apologies I'll try to make more watertight analogies in the future. The ability to set up colonies in space has very little to do with star trek fandom (I can't stand it so no 'star trek' fan here). It is a way to expand our envelope, to reduce our viewpoint of Earth as a special place in the universe (it's only special to us right now) and it will, in the longer term yield dividends in ways that we probably can not even think of today, just like Columbus probably had no idea of the magnitude of the future consequences of his voyage. If every bit of research or every human activity to date would be viewed with the eye towards immediate economic sense then we'd still be hunter gatherers living in Africa, all of us. Discovery, curiosity and a drive to expand our envelopes both in a physical sense and in a mental sense are valuable too, even if they don't show up next week on some balance sheet of humanity, Inc.
- rbanffy 11y agoThey just lost a great candidate because of the citizenship requirements... ;-)
- k__ 11y agolol They also don't seem to need computer scientists :\
- rbanffy 11y agoWell... They are running Debian on the ISS. That should reduce the need for sysadmins, at least.
- TeMPOraL 11y agoWait what? Switching to Linux reduces the need for sysadmins?
- vinceguidry 11y agoIt should if you hire competent ones. One guy can maintain many many more Linux servers than he could Windows servers. I had a job at an IT outsourcing shop several years ago. Before I got there, one guy administered some 50 Debian / Ubuntu servers. They needed two Windows guys to maintain half as many Windows servers.
- odonnellryan 11y agoEssentially. Backups and updates are much more hands-on with Windows than with Linux. There exists bad software for both Windows and Linux, but there are more (seemingly..) awful applications running on Windows systems: ancient apps that are still being updated several times a year (no package manager to help), the deprecated databases those applications use... There are good configuration management tools for both systems, and both systems are good at what they do. Just seems there's more awful things running on your average Windows server.
- Al-Khwarizmi 11y ago
- tempodox 11y agoFeet? Pounds? Incredible. I move for the introduction of the metric system.
- kbutler 11y agoOh, it's introduced - but the transition is not complete. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Climate_Orbiter https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Climate_Orbiter
- briandear 11y agoWhy? Works for them.
- Tankenstein 11y agoUhh, no, it doesn't: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Climate_Orbiter?oldformat=true https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Climate_Orbiter?oldformat...
- hudibras 11y agoDon't like it? Then go apply at ESA, buddy.
- CraigJPerry 11y agoI watched a press conference about astronaut selection from the 60s. The press mostly wanted to know about religious persuasions and marital statuses which felt like major culture shock to me.
- rjsw 11y agoYou might like to read The Right Stuff [1], the film is good too but the book goes into quite a bit of detail on how the astronauts were seen as representing the nation. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Right_Stuff_%28book%29 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Right_Stuff_%28book%29
- hudibras 11y agoOne of the Apollo astronauts was essentially fired for having an extra-marital affair with his future wife.
- spectre256 11y ago"Salaries for civilian Astronaut Candidates are based on the Federal Government’s General Schedule pay scales for grades GS-11 through GS-14" From http://www.federaljobs.net/salarybase.htm#SALARY_TABLE_2015-GS http://www.federaljobs.net/salarybase.htm#SALARY_TABLE_2015-... it sounds like civilian astronaut salaries then range from $51k to $112k per year. That feels pretty low, but presumably astonauts assigned to a mission can make money through public speaking, etc.
- frisco 11y agoSalary is about priority #97 when legitimately considering becoming an astronaut.
- sithadmin 11y ago>astronauts assigned to a mission can make money through public speaking As somebody who knows many current and former astronauts (lived a stone's throw from JSC for 20+ years)... I can assure you that astronauts picking up money for appearances is fairly uncommon. A majority are incredibly low-profile, publicity-wise. If they show up to an event to speak, it's almost always because they personally feel compelled to advocate for research, education, the space program in general, etc.
- adrianN 11y agoThere are lots of people who would do it for free. I'm sure even the pool of qualified applicants is much larger than the available positions.
- jonknee 11y agoThere are lots of people who would pay to do it!
- baby 11y agoHow is that low? With such a salary you can live a pretty good life.
- 11y ago
- bbayer 11y agoToo bad that is required to be U.S. citizen for the application. It is totally understandable but I wish I have a chance.
- eternauta3k 11y agoIf you move there now you could be a citizen in 5 years...
- bbayer 11y agoI don't think relocation is enough to get citizenship. As far as I know it is possible if you are lucky for getting green card.
- logfromblammo 11y agoWikipedia lists 14 US astronauts that are naturalized citizens. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_space_travelers_by_nationality#Naturalized_Americans https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_space_travelers_by_nat...
- greydius 11y agoI'm too tall, unfortunately. But I am a white male, so I guess I'll just have to settle for a job as a CEO.
- dan_blanchard 11y agoThe thought of going to space is certainly enticing, but since I don't like turbulent flights or rollercoasters, this is probably not for me.
- ruffrey 11y agoAmazing, astronaut candidates are paid less that a Silicon Valley software dev.
- pc86 11y agoAnd depending on rank and length of service, the military candidates may be paid less than the civilians (or more).
- saiya-jin 11y agoso are 90% of other high-tech skilled jobs
- waterlesscloud 11y agoAnd pretty much everyone on (or off in this case!) the planet. A lot of HN readers seem really, seriously out of touch on the income front.
- TeMPOraL 11y agoIt surprises me very much. I understand that many in tech may not have close friends from outside tech, but family? Do so many people are second-generation technologists, so they don't end up in those uncomfortable situations where they avoid the topic of salaries near their siblings, parents, or SO?
- steven777400 11y agoIt's interesting to see a little from the other side too. I'm in tech, but not "SV pay" scale. Meanwhile many of my friends are in tech at the more SV-like pay scales. It's sometimes surreal the things they talk about and afford. I usually just smile and nod and many of the not-close friends aren't even aware (I presume) that there's a difference.
- geonnave 11y agoThey mention "Russian language training" in the Astronaut Candidate training program. Interesting.
- ceejayoz 11y agoWhy interesting? Any NASA astronaut who goes to space currently has to work with Russians on the ISS, and gets there via a Russian launch vehicle. Basic knowledge of the language is a must, if for nothing other than "don't press the button labeled 'self-destruct' in Russian".
- geonnave 11y agoOh, sure. I didn't realized that at first. It must be my programmer brain telling me "English is the one global language" all the time. (note: I'm not an English native speaker)
- iamcurious 11y agoIt is, until it isn't. I wonder how long would English last as the lingua franca of the west if the USA focused inward like Canada.
- siberianbear 11y agoAs soon as I read that part, I wanted to apply. I am as much as an American as it gets: some of my ancestors fought in the Revolutionary and American Civil wars. But I speak Russian fluently and I've been living in Siberia for a few years. As soon as I read that, I realized that I would instantly be "best buds" with the Russian astronauts on the ISS because I don't just speak their language: I also (kind of) understand their culture. Unfortunately, I don't have any experience flying jet aircraft. So the challenge is meant for someone else...
- celebration 11y agoFor anyone who hasn't already read it, I highly recommend 'An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth' by Chris Hadfield. It's a highlt entertaining read with lots of anecdotes from his training and time in space. The book really gives you an appreciation for the immense levels of dedication and focus required to become an astronaut. I also think his work ethic and positive outlook on life is pretty inspirational for anyone, not just those interested in space.
- deleted 11y ago[deleted]
- waterlesscloud 11y agoThe kid I grew up literally next door to became an astronaut. It'd be hard for me to be any more jealous. :-) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_S._Kimbrough https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_S._Kimbrough
- peter303 11y agoSince the end of the shuttles in 2011 only four US astronauts go into orbit a year. Basically NASA has two of six astronauts on the space state, for an average of six month terms. While the ISS was being constructed as many as 20 astronauts went into space a year, for about a week.
- artmageddon 11y agoI wonder what the chance of a software developer would be for making it to selection :)
- phasmantistes 11y agoDoes anyone know what the "anthropometric requirements for both the specific vehicle and the extravehicular activity mobility unit" are? I assume there are both maximum and minimum heights, but weight probably isn't a direct factor (just a factor as it affects your girth). Anyone have numbers?