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Qualifying to become an astronaut might not be as hard as you think. Also, NASA is hiring.


Cirocco

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Me too. Is this some kind of dwarf space program?

Well, you do have to fit in the standart space suit ... that is the main reason for the quite low cutout. More , bigger astronauts mean bigger interiors, and that means heavier ships and more fuel spent. Remeber that nowadays NASA does not paint the rockets like in Saturn days to cut in the weight of the paint, so ... ;)

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Myopia - check

Astigmatism - check

Screwed up meniscus in both knees - check

Living in a south-east European country - check

Masters degree in nothing relating to engineering or natural sciences - check

Reverts flights in KSP all the time - check

Oh NASA, oh, oh, pick me pick me!

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I'm in the same boat.

If I were 20 years younger and had a Ph.D, I might have had a shot. ;) (I know, they talk about equivalent experience... but really, not having a higher degree closes a lot of doors, even when people say it doesn't)

Well there's one thing you can be sure of, you're very qualified for modding KSP.

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Ive considered it. Im in pretty decent shape (I can run a six minute mile, do 50 push-ups, and eat moderately well), I have an aptitude for science (I plan to become either an engineer, or a physicist), and Im fairly good with people. The perks of the job are obvious, both professionally and personally, and it would be an honor to travel into space, im just not sure if I'd like to spend a good chunk of my life towards becoming an astronaut.

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Regarding those myths, they are only myths if you're strictly speaking about just the bare minimum to qualify. But it's an extremely competitive process and if you look at who they actually hire, it's pretty much the de facto standard. NASA is going to get thousands of applications for a dozen open slots, and anyone just meeting the minimums is going up against applicants who exceed them by a large margin. I don't have numbers to back it up, but I'm guessing that 90% of all astronauts have at least a masters degree, and many have multiple degrees. Probably about 2/3rds are ex-military. Although it is true they allow Lasik-corrected vision now, and a lot don't have prior flight experience.

Anyway, I'm an aerospace engineer with well over 3 years of professional work experience. Height 68.5 inches, exactly in the middle of their range. Physically fit, passing the physical would be no problem for me. Age a little above the median, but still within the range they hire. I'm going to give it a go. It'll be a long shot since I only have a BS degree.

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I hate height limits :/ I would be able and even willing to qualify, but being almost 7 inches too tall kinda blows my chances. (And not being a US citizen, but that can be remedied.)

I hope private spaceflight won't have the height limits. Even suborbital spaceflight would be nice. Anything, really.

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If you really want to know what it takes to become an astronaut, don't look at the minimum requirements for the application. Go on Wikipedia and read the astronaut bios. That will tell you what it really takes to become an astronaut.

Back in the shuttle days, there were mission specialists and there were pilots: (I'm not sure if those distinctions will still hold true in the Orion era.)

Pilots are exclusively ex-military pilots or current military pilots on cross-assignment. They all have thousands of hours in high-performance military jet aircraft. Most of them also have special qualifications above and beyond that highly-exclusive requirement, such as being flight instructors, or graduating from Test Pilot School. Think of it this way: Unless you have a career path as a United States military pilot in your future, you will not be a pilot astronaut. If you do, you still have a tough fight ahead of you to become one.

Mission specialists are a little easier. I haven't seen one yet that didn't have a master's degree in a highly technical field. Most of them have PhDs. Many of them have multiple post-graduate degrees. (Remember, even back in 1959 NASA required the applicants for the Mercury program to have a Bachelor's.) You'll have to pass a flight physical, so if you have any birth defects, long-term injuries, asthma, etc, you're out. If you're a couch potato, you aren't going to make the cut either. Another thing to note is that a very high proportion of mission specialists are recruited from inside NASA, the DOD, or other related Federal agencies. It seems that, to a certain extent, it isn't what you know, it's who you know. Or, to be a little more fair, it seems that they get thousands of qualified applicants and they wind up picking the people that they have met and worked with and that they know are solid and reliable.

I'm not trying to be discouraging. I'm just saying that if you really want to be an astronaut, be smart about it. You'll have to plan your career around it, and even then the chances of it happening are very slim. Have a solid backup plan. But just mailing off an application and crossing your fingers? That's like playing the lottery and calling it your retirement plan. It isn't going to happen.

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