THE ASTRONAUT RESOURCES
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The (NASA) astronaut-recruiting program has
undergone some significant changes since the first astronaut selection took place in 1959.
Back then, NASA requested the U.S. Military services to list their members who met
specific qualifications, largely involving jet aircraft flight experience and engineering
training. An applicant's height had could be no more than 5 feet 11 inches because of
limited cabin space available inside the Mercury space capsule. The first
astronaut-selection process consisted of a series of intense physical and psychological
screenings. The world's first 7 astronauts were finally selected out of a
field of 500 candidates. They were: Air Force Captains L. Gordon Cooper, Jr., Virgil "Gus" Grissom and
Donald K. "Deke" Slayton; Marine Lieutenant Colonel John H. Glenn, Jr., Navy
Lieutenant M. Scott Carpenter and Navy
Lieutenant Commanders Walter M. Schirra, Jr.,
and Alan B. Shepard, Jr. Six of these men flew in the early Project Mercury flights. Deke
Slayton was grounded because of medical reasons (heart fibrillation), but flew 16 years
later representing the United States on board Apollo (Apollo-Soyuz
Test Project).
a historical moment during the Apollo Soyuz Test Project In September 1962, nine pilot astronauts were chosen and 14 more were
selected in October 1963. By this time, prime emphasis had shifted from flight experience
to superior academic qualifications. In October 1964, applications were invited on the
basis of educational background alone. These were the scientist
astronauts, so-called because the 400 + applicants who met the minimum
requirements had a doctorate or equivalent experience in the
natural sciences, medicine, or engineering. Out of these 400 applicants, 6 were selected
in June 1965. 19 pilot astronauts were named in April 1966 and in August 1967, 11 scientist astronauts were added to the astronaut-program. The Air Force Manned Orbiting Laboratory project was canceled in mid-1969, and seven astronaut trainees transferred to NASA.
The end of the Saturn V era.
Astronaut - selection for the Space Shuttle era started in January 1978. In July of the same year, 35 astronaut-candidates began an extensive training and evaluation period at JSC (Johnson Space Center), Texas, to qualify for subsequent assignment to future Space Shuttle flight crews. The 1978 group consisted of 20 mission specialists and 15 pilots who completed training and went from candidate status to astronaut (active) status in August 1979. Six of the 35 were women and four were minorities. Between 1978 and 1992, another 6 groups of pilots and mission specialists were added. A total of 106 additional astronauts. |
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