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voidmain:
Well, things may have changed but usually the basic qualifications were being highly educated, great physical condition, several thousand hours in a fighter jet (or) being a scientist of some sort relating to the mission, applying for the program, having an incredible amount of luck, being accepted (hope none of those terrorists slip into *that* flight school), passing the program, etc, etc.
I actually took the wife and kids down and witnessed the STS-98 launch close up (closest one can get without being a family member, had a military friend stationed there that got us special passes). It was one of the most amazing things I have seen.
Actually before the launch at the visitors center they had an Astronaut there that flew on a couple of shuttle missions. He talked for an hour or two about that exact question and what life was like on the shuttle, and the space program in general past/present/future. It was actually quite humorous when he got a question from one of the kids about how they went to the bathroom on the shuttle. He probably spent 5 minutes on that one.
The astronaut's name was Story Musgrave who has been up on 6 space flights. He was the oldest American to fly at the age of 61 (I believe John Glenn went up at around 75 so I don't think he still holds that record). I recall he said he grew up on a farm (like me), don't recall but am pretty sure it was in the midwest (like me), but he got smart and became an astronaut (unlike me). I got the whole thing on video tape. Haven't watched it in a while but it was a very good speech and Q&A session.
But if you want more current and accurate details here ya go:
How to become and astronaut
[ October 11, 2002: Message edited by: void main ]
Bazoukas:
Yeah i was looking at that page and I have to say there is a small part of me inside that dares to dream that big.
And that is why I am thinking in going in the Military while going ahead with a Masters in Enginering or something of that nature.
The only problem is that I had stoped school for 3 1/2 years because of financial and family reasons. And those three years are for me like a huge gap that am trying to fill up like a SOB now.
I will apply for avy league schools and I am hoping that they will accept me and then take it from there and hope I will end up working for them.
voidmain:
I say "go for it!". Dream that big. Even if you fall slightly short you will be better off than 99.999% of the humans on this earth. I don't know if there is any secret but I think the more education you have the more likely you are to get there (and don't eat too many potato chips along the way).
I would research the backgrounds of the current astronauts and try and take a similar path. My guess is that they will have some sort of high level science degrees. And of course the pilots usually are the best of the best and would have a lot of flying time with great records and lots of education. But I don't know any more about it than Joe Blow so do some research. I could watch that video tape again and see if Story had any tips because I do recall him going over that question and spending some time on it.
Bazoukas:
Thanks VoidMan. Its always good to hear someone for a change to say something like that.
Hell even though i been to hell and back since I came to USA, i never forgot my goals and even though I had many chances of "bailing out" and return back and have it easy with people that I know, in Greece, i never allowed it to my self.
And one thing that draws me to USA, big time, is the fact that I was always seen like the underdog, kinda the same like USA was viewed some decades ago.
Anyway ill stop with the drama :D
But as you said, education is the key and a good dose of lucky charm :D
I was looking few weeks ago at the pbs web site and they had a section about astronauts and their bios. And one of them, get this, has a BS in music :eek: and two Masters in EE. Talk about being creative.
voidmain:
quote:Originally posted by bazoukas:
I was looking few weeks ago at the pbs web site and they had a section about astronauts and their bios. And one of them, get this, has a BS in music :eek: and two Masters in EE. Talk about being creative.
--- End quote ---
Two masters in EE??? Liked it so much he went back for seconds I guess. I enjoyed college but not high school. I was young and dumb when I went through high school and it didn't interest me in the least. Little did I know....
I waited almost 10 years before taking my first college class. I believe I ended up with a 3.96 GPA. But it was tough because I had a day job so I had to squeeze classes in a night, I'm guessing similar to what you are doing. It was a lot of work but worth it. However, I didn't like it enough to want to make a career out of going to school, like some people do (my sister, she's a lawyer).
I had no money at the time and going to work during the day, school at night, and having a family was pretty tricky and too much work for me. Maybe after the kids get out of school and I make enough money to retire I'll go back to school and try and get into the astronaut program myself. Just keep your chin up. I can assure you there is gold at the end of the rainbow if you stick to your dreams, even if in the end they take you somewhere else that you didn't even realize you wanted to go until you got close.
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