Astronaut vs Mission Controller with job is more cooler

[Pawelk198604]

I have Asperger i'm from Poland, i read about one American shuttle astronaut whom bears Polish sounding surname, but she's hardly neither badge of  honor for Aspies nor for People with Polish Ancestry

 

https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2011/02/lisa-nowak-space-oddity/71383/

 

http://wrongplanet.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=42295

                                                   

It can be said that there is no more dangerous force in nature than a cheated woman, in particular a cheated woman on the autism spectrum xD

 

Well i'm little quirky gay man on Autistic spectrum :-)

 

I loved to watch both Russian and American space launches, the live broadcasts from Houston Texas, USA or Star City(Звёздный городо́к, Zvyozdny gorodok), Russia, where American and Russian mission control center are located , when my mom was still alive i talked with her that i want be cosmonaut/astronaut, my mom used to say it's unreal because Poland not have own manned program(with i said that we're ESA) and  i have autism, with i say that American Astronaut was also aspie but she flown into space, even trough she had some of her autistic meltdown

 

My mom said that well she would prefer me in mission control like those folks

 

 

or those one

 

 

 

but i always want be like this one :-)

  

 

I once asked my late mom does she not want me be astronaut because i'm Aspie? :-)

 

And my mom replied that partially yes, but mainly because i'm just her son

and she remember like the Soviets once loses their cosmonauts, and she remember like she watched Polish communist newsreel which with unlikely other communist newsreel said with high regard about trio of American astronauts who died in terrible fire in late 60's :-( 
And she not want to see me nor my older brother in similar settings :-( 
I said that it;s unlikely that anyone die in space nowadays :-)

Edited March 28, 2018 by Pawelk198604

[NSEP]

Astronaut is definitely cooler than a mission controller, but mission controller is just as important.

I think it would be really cool of you could say to someone i work at the Mission Control for the space program.

[p1t1o]

It seems you keep asking "Can I do this?" or "How do I get to do that?"

 

In all honesty, when you are young, you only have a certain amount of influence over your final career.

Yes you can apply for courses and take exams and look for jobs, but in the end, certain opportunities arise, and some dont, you just have to be ready to seize the best ones when they come along.

So dont worry about whether you'd make a good astronaut or if mission control is "cool enough". You think its easy to get into mission control? Whether its cool or not? These are leading-edge jobs where it is someone else who chooses you.

Just work hard at the subjects you are good at, take courses in what you are interested in, keep an eye out for training opportunities or experience, and if you play your cards right, you can steer yourself towards the field that you want to work in, you can make yourself a good candidate for the types of jobs you are wondering about.

THEN you might be able to make choices about what you really end up doing, you dont really make that choice *now*.

If you are interested in a career in space, whether ground control or flight crew, find out what the general requirements are and fill them.

Maybe you'll end up on an astronaut shortlist one day, or maybe you'll find that you have a particular skill in a related area.

There are hundreds of job titles closely related to space, not just "mission control" or "astronaut".

 

I wanted to be a pilot in the RAF, there were many things I could have done better to improve my chances (RAF cadets, flight experience, scholarship applications etc.) but I had good aptitude scores and knew my stuff. However in the end it was my hearing which got me. Contracted measles mumps at university which adversely affected my ears - its only detectable in a hearing test, but the RAF requirements are steep.

See what I mean about how things happen? Frankly its lucky I didnt get halfway through pilot training only to get measles mumps then.

They then offered to put me on the air traffic control or "battle planner" application tracks, but I was focused on pilot only, and was young, green and disillusioned, so didnt take them up. Wish I did because any of those careers would have been fantastic, especially compared to the mundanity of my daily life now.

See what I mean about being ready to seize the best opportunities? About being open to them?

 

Find out what qualifications/experiences are advantages in your chosen field, and try to achieve some of them.

Even if you never even get to apply for your dream job (I count myself lucky that I even came as close as I did, not everyone gets to even consider their actual dream job), you will still be learning things that you are good at and that you enjoy, that [hopefully] will be useful to you down the line whatever you end up doing.

Edited March 28, 2018 by p1t1o
Mumps, it was mumps not measles.

[YNM]

The Internet can only offer answers : "what", "when", "why", or "how".

 

If you want the real stuff, follow it. Go and ask, go and see, go and do.

 

For me, even what people would say "close to the end", reality would probably screams I'm still very far away.

[ARS]

Astronaut: High risk job, but you get to see the the beauty of the earth from orbit and feel the low gravity sensation (in short, due to the high risk and rigorous training, if you passed all of it, you're a badass)

Mission control: High pressure job, but it feels so satisfying to brag and being called "steely eyed missile men"(which is also badass)

Your choice

-Jeb

Edited March 28, 2018 by ARS

[YNM]

24 minutes ago, ARS said:

but it feels so satisfying to brag and being called "steely eyed missile men"(which is also badass)

Given that they now have braced cameras to be in lieu of themselves...

... Their time are numbered.

1 hour ago, p1t1o said:

They then offered to put me on the air traffic control

I can see why this is a missed opportunity - many established ATCs are also (private) pilots.

Also, your problem was probably not just with the hearing itself - your problem might also be with clearing the ear (eustachius tube). Pulling fast altitude change requires you to be able to equalize pressure quickly.

Edited March 28, 2018 by YNM

[KSK]

Why not both? From what I've read, if you do end up making the grade as an astronaut, then pulling a stint or two as Capcom or some other flight control duty may well be part of the job anyway.

Right now you can have a long career as an astronaut without actually flying into space very much. 

[p1t1o]

1 hour ago, YNM said:

I can see why this is a missed opportunity - many established ATCs are also (private) pilots.

Also, your problem was probably not just with the hearing itself - your problem might also be with clearing the ear (eustachius tube). Pulling fast altitude change requires you to be able to equalize pressure quickly.

ATC also seems like a fairly engaging and interesting career, "Battle Planner" is essentially the same thing but onboard an AWACS and managing combat aircraft in-theatre.

That would have been very cool.

Its definitely not related to the Eustachian tubes, I can still equalise them easily, the mumps virus attacks the middle ear apparently and in severe cases can cause almost total hearing loss. Mine was far more minor, its permanent but its not noticable in day-to-day life.

If Im being honest, this was picked up only about half way through the application process, so I dont know for sure that I would have gotten through selection, but thats life.

Blah-blah this-and-that and now Im a scientist.

Growing up I always knew "RAF pilot" was a long shot but was equally interested in science so got myself educated in that whilst applying for the other. I should have concentrated more on RAF-related things to help my application, which is what I would advise, but in the end it didnt make any difference for me.

[YNM]

4 minutes ago, p1t1o said:

Blah-blah this-and-that and now Im a scientist.

You can still be a scientist for the RAF XD

[p1t1o]

3 minutes ago, YNM said:

You can still be a scientist for the RAF XD

Im not aware of any science-heavy positions, I would have thought they outsourced that kind of thing to 3rd parties,  I wasnt really looking though.

Either way, i was looking to the RAF for a different type of career, once that was done, I stuck to the more conventional track.