What Does It Take to Become an Astronaut? | Hacker News Reader

What Does It Take to Become an Astronaut?

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14 pointsOxydepth14 comments

To know what it's really like, as opposed to what movies depict, just read the transcript of the famous Apollo 13 incident. Remember the movie version? Read what they really said here (http://apollo13.spacelog.org/page/02:07:55:19/). For instance:

Okay. And we're looking at our S—SERVICE MODULE RCS HELIUM 1. We have—B is barber poled and D is barber poled, HELIUM 2, D is barber pole, and SECONDARY PROPELLANTS, I have A and C barber pole. BMAG temperatures?

Less dramatic than in the movies. A lot more engineering and detail-oriented.

That is an incredible read. I'd imagine that a lot of what an astronaut needs is nerves of steel when something goes wrong. I can't imagine what it was like in Apollo 13 knowing that something had gone stupendously wrong and if you didn't make the exact right decisions from that point forward you'd never get home again, alive or dead.

The best part about it is the fact that they actually did make it! Which makes it all the better. There's a sense of anxiety while reading even if you know the outcome.

Even if you become one, you might still never fly. In interviewing for a company that contracted for NASA and knew some Astronauts, remember them saying how some have been around for 10+ years and never got to fly.

I've heard the same stories from serious applicants to the astronaut program. A major problem they cite: living in Houston for N years, doing training, waiting to fly.

NASA still has far more astronauts than they need. They had about 140 at peak. NASA still has just under 50, despite lacking a launch system. All they do now is rotate people through the ISS, launching from Russia. Since the Shuttle was retired, there's not much work in space.

The remaining astronauts get stuck with jobs such as "Lunch with an Astronaut".[1] It looks like none of the astronauts from the class of 2013 have been in space yet. Being an ex-astronaut is worse. A few years ago, NASA pulled ex-astronaut passes to NASA Houston, so they can't hang around there after quitting.

[1] https://www.kennedyspacecenter.com/things-to-do/lunch-with-a...

Thank you for sharing that information Animats. Very relative to the original post. I haven't read that, so I will make the time to do so.

For anyone interested in this topic/NASA, etc, and doesn't mind using Quora, I suggest reading the answers of https://www.quora.com/profile/Robert-Frost-1. He's a treasure trove of information and clearly passionate about the topic.

Off topic: but why would someone mind using Quora? IMHO it's a great service, but open to hearing opinions on it.

Hey reagan83, sorry, just saw this comment. I've seen some hate on HN for quora due to their walled services, you need to login (with your real name).

Probably a lot of luck, considering how many qualified applicants there are likely to be and how many actual positions there are.

"I always found the harder I worked, the luckier I got" - Henry Ford.

I imagine that applies ten fold to becoming an astronaut

I think we may be surprised on how many actual qualified applicants there are. Hard to say though. I wouldn't feel it's an extreme amount. Though, it would probably be pretty difficult just because, as you said, probably not a ton of actual positions available.

Thanks for that share Alain. I've read the transcript before for a couple of Apollo missions. Good share.

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