Keep the shuttle flying: Fwd: Record number apply to be NASA astronauts

Not many will be needed with present plans!!

Sent from my iPad

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Gary Johnson" <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Date: February 21, 2016 at 9:43:22 AM CST
To: "Gary Johnson" <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Subject: FW: Record number apply to be NASA astronauts

Feb. 19, 2016
16-018
Record Number of Americans Apply to #BeAnAstronaut at NASA
Astronaut Terry Virts conducts a spacewalk during an orbital sunrise on Feb. 21, 2015.
Credits: NASA
NASA astronaut Barry Wilmore trains for spacewalks in the Neutral Buoyancy Lab at the agency's Johnson Space Center in Houston.
Credits: NASA
More than 18,300 people applied to join NASA's 2017 astronaut class, almost three times the number of applications received in 2012 for the most recent astronaut class, and far surpassing the previous record of 8,000 in 1978.
"It's not at all surprising to me that so many Americans from diverse backgrounds want to personally contribute to blazing the trail on our journey to Mars," said NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden, himself a former astronaut. "A few exceptionally talented men and women will become the astronauts chosen in this group who will once again launch to space from U.S. soil on American-made spacecraft."
Applications opened Dec. 14, and closed Thursday, but that is just the beginning of an 18-month process that will end with the selection of 8-14 individuals for the opportunity to become astronaut candidates. NASA expects to announce its selections in mid-2017.
Between now and then, NASA's Astronaut Selection Board will review the applications, assessing each candidate's qualifications. The board then will invite the most highly qualified candidates to the agency's Johnson Space Center in Houston for interviews before the final selection is made and the new astronaut candidates report to Johnson for training.
"We have our work cut out for us with this many applications," said Brian Kelly, director of Flight Operations at Johnson. "But it's heartening to know so many people recognize what a great opportunity this is to be part of NASA's exciting mission. I look forward to meeting the men and women talented enough to rise to the top of what is always a pool of incredible applicants."
After reporting at Johnson, the astronaut candidates will go through about two years of initial training on spacecraft systems, spacewalking skills and teamwork, Russian language and other requisite skills.
Those who complete the training will be given technical duties within the Astronaut Office at Johnson before being assigned on any of four different spacecraft: the International Space Station, NASA's Orion spacecraft for deep space exploration, or one of two American-made commercial crew spacecraft currently in development – Boeing's CST-100 Starliner or the SpaceX Crew Dragon.
The commercial crew spacecraft will carry four astronauts to the space station, expanding the orbiting laboratory's crew from six to seven and effectively doubling the amount of crew time available to conduct the important research and technology demonstrations that are advancing our knowledge for the journey to Mars, while also returning benefits to Earth.
For more information about NASA astronauts, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/astronauts
For information about other NASA job opportunities, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/about/career
-end-
Stephanie Schierholz
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
stephanie.schierholz@nasa.gov
Brandi Dean
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
brandi.k.dean@nasa.gov
Last Updated: Feb. 19, 2016
Editor: Karen Northon

Record number apply to be NASA astronauts
James Dean, FLORIDA TODAY 5:21 p.m. EST February 19, 2016

Expedition 50/51 crew members Peggy Whitson and Thomas Pesquet of ESA underwater during a spacewalk training last month at NASA's Johnson Space Center, home of the astronaut corps.(Photo: NASA/Bill Brassard)
NASA on Friday reported receiving a record number of applicants — more than 18,300 — to join its next astronaut class.
The total is more than double the previous record of 8,000 back in 1979, just before the space shuttle era began, and nearly three times the number who applied for the last class in 2012, just after the shuttle program's retirement.
The space agency plans to select eight to 14 astronaut candidates by mid-2017.
"A few exceptionally talented men and women will become the astronauts chosen in this group who will once again launch to space from U.S. soil on American-made spacecraft," NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden said in a press release.
NASA hopes to resume astronaut launches from the Space Coast by late 2017 on Boeing or SpaceX capsules bound for the International Space Station.
By 2023, the first crew could fly aboard an Orion exploration capsule launched from Kennedy Space Center by a Space Launch System rocket, on a test flight orbiting the moon. The agency's long-range goal is to send a crew to Mars by the late 2030s.
The application period for the new astronaut class opened Dec. 14 and closed Thursday. NASA said the most qualified applicants will be invited to Johnson Space Center for interviews before final selections are made.
"We have our work cut out for us with this many applications," said Brian Kelly, director of Flight Operations at Johnson Space Center in Houston, home of the astronaut corps.
Minimum requirements to apply included being a U.S. citizen with a bachelor's degree in science, engineering or math disciplines, and at least three years of related experience with increasing responsibilities or at least 1,000 hours piloting jet aircraft.
Including the "Original Seven" Mercury astronauts named in 1959, NASA has selected 338 astronauts to date in 21 groups. Classes are picked every so often based on mission needs.
NASA chose four men and four women as astronaut candidates, or ASCANs, in 2013. They completed two years of training to earn eligibility for flight assignments.
Contact Dean at 321-242-3668 or jdean@floridatoday.com.

Copyright © 2016 www.floridatoday.com. All rights reserved.

Over 18,300 Apply to Become NASA Astronauts, Smashing Record
By Sarah Lewin, Staff Writer | February 19, 2016 03:46pm ET
NASA astronaut Terry Virts (selected in 2000) took this spectacular spacewalk in 2015. A record-breaking 18,300 people have applied to be in NASA's 2017 astronaut class.
Credit: NASA
More than 18,300 people have applied for 14 or fewer spots in NASA's next astronaut class, shattering the 1978 record of 8,000 applicants.
(In 1978, it had been nine years since the previous chance to apply to be an astronaut, and the space shuttle had recently been announced. Plus, it was the first official call for female applicants.)
The prospective astronauts all submitted their applications between Dec.14 and when the application period closed yesterday (Feb. 18) — and the total number is close to triple the applicants for NASA's most recent astronaut class, in 2012. (At the time, the 2012 application pool was the second largest ever at more than 6,300.) [Related: How To Become An Astronaut]
"It's not at all surprising to me that so many Americans from diverse backgrounds want to personally contribute to blazing the trail on our journey to Mars," NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said in a statement. "A few exceptionally talented men and women will become the astronauts chosen in this group who will once again launch to space from U.S. soil on American-made spacecraft."
Bolden himself is a former astronaut, selected as one of a class of 19 in 1980.
Over the next 18 months, NASA's astronaut-selection board will narrow the applicants down, and the top applicants will interview at Johnson Space Center in Houston — ultimately, NASA will select a final set of eight to 14 astronaut candidates to begin training.
The training process will take about two years, and will include "training on spacecraft systems, spacewalking skills and teamwork, Russian language and other requisite skills," NASA officials said in the statement.
Ultimately, those who make it through the training will be assigned to either the International Space Station, NASA's Orion spacecraft, the Boeing CST-100 Starliner or the SpaceX Crew Dragon. Orion, currently in development to launch in the early 2020s on the new Space Launch System megarocket, will be able to support a crew of four for up to 21 days — habitat modules will be added for longer journeys, such as visiting Mars or deep space. Both the Starliner and Crew Dragon are in development aided by NASA's commercial crew program to bring four astronauts to the space station at a time.
But first, NASA's astronaut-selection board has its hands full choosing the most qualified candidates from the enormous pool of astronaut hopefuls for the 2017 astronaut class.
"We have our work cut out for us with this many applications," Brian Kelly, director of Flight Operations at Johnson Space Center, said in the statement. "But it's heartening to know so many people recognize what a great opportunity this is to be part of NASA's exciting mission. I look forward to meeting the men and women talented enough to rise to the top of what is always a pool of incredible applicants."

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