How to Become an Astronaut 101

At some point in our lives, we have all wanted to become an astronaut. Whether this dream lasted only a day or two or for multiple years, we have all had it. Today, you can check how close you are to this dream because we are going over astronaut training. However, this is not a full-fledged guide to 100% become an astronaut.

NASA Astronaut Bruce McCandless

If you have been living under a rock for the last 100 years, you may be wondering what an astronaut is. An astronaut is anyone trained, equipped, and deployed into space as a commander or crew member. Space programs all over the world use astronauts. Some even refer to astronauts using different names. For example, the Russian space program, Roscosmos, refers to its astronauts as cosmonauts. There have also been private space astronauts, which are referred to as commercial astronauts. This term was first coined when SpaceShipOne went suborbital in 2004.

Since this blog is based in the United States, we will be focusing on how to become a NASA astronaut and the type of training that they use. The first class of NASA astronauts was selected in 1959, and at the time, they were mostly military test pilots. However, this all changed with the shuttle program. NASA started to recruit more STEM-oriented people to allow many more people to qualify to become an astronaut.

Elliot See During Water
Egress Training at 
NASA for Gemini 5

Here are the current requirements to apply to become a NASA:

• The candidate must be a citizen of the United States.

• The candidate must complete a master's degree in a STEM field, including engineering, biological science, physical science, computer science or mathematics.

• The candidate must have at least two years of related professional experience obtained after degree completion or at least 1,000 hours pilot-in-command time on jet aircraft.

• The candidate must be able to pass the NASA long-duration flight astronaut physical.

• The candidate must also have skills in leadership, teamwork, and communications.

The master's degree requirement can also be met by:

• Two years of work toward a doctoral program in related science, technology, engineering, or math field.

• A completed Doctor of Medicine or Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree.

• Completion of a nationally recognized test pilot school program.

There is also a special Mission Specialist Educator role. This is a teacher who is hand-selected to fly into space. So far, this role has only been used during the space station program.

Training to be a NASA astronaut is broken into five different sections: basic training, advanced training, mission-specific training, onboard training, and proficiency maintenance training. All NASA astronauts learned basic medicine, languages, robotics, piloting, and space system engineering. In advanced and mission-specific training, astronauts will learn about the operation of specific skills that will be used in that mission. This stage takes on average 18 months. Proficient maintenance training helps to make sure that they maintain the minimum level of performance for future missions.

Human Centrifuge

Astronauts also have to train for specific parts of the mission. For the launch and landing, astronauts train to withstand the g-force that is exerted on their bodies. Most astronauts will additionally face space motion sickness in their first few days in space but will get used to it. Astronauts train for on-orbit operations. They study all the systems of the spacecraft including spacecraft propulsion, spacecraft thermal control, and life support systems. This training is done to make sure that the crew will be prepared if there are any problems that the crew meets while in orbit. Astronauts also train to work in the extreme environments of space. They need to be able to adapt to microgravity, isolationism, and space radiation. Astronauts also need to be able to conduct space experiments, Their training on this includes how they should conduct certain experiments in space.

In NASA’s case, astronaut candidates (AsCans) undergo 2 years of training before they can be selected to participate in a mission. At first, all AsCans go through basic training and technical courses. Some examples include life support systems, orbital mechanics, payload deployment, Earth observations, and space physiology and medicine. During their basic training, they train on Soyuz and ISS systems. Pilot AsCans train in T-38 trainer jets. AsCans will also learn basic Russian to work with cosmonauts on the ISS.

NASA's T-38

After their basic training, AsCans move on to NASA’s Advanced Training. During their advanced training, AsCans train in life-size models of whatever they are training in. For example, during the space shuttle program, AsCans trained in Enterprise, the space shuttle that never flew. You can check more about that in my article here. They also trained in flight simulators to make sure they knew the launch and landing plans. These simulations were mostly done by AsCans who were training to become Commanders or Pilots. The whole crew will train on similar modules such as airlocks and spacewalks.

Finally, the AsCans go through NASA’s Intensive Training. Intensive training prepares AsCans for a designated mission and starts 3 months before launch. During this time, Commanders and Pilots train on flight-specific simulations. The rest of the crew will also start to work on assigned experiments. All the training for the Intensive Training is specific to the mission. For example, the crew of STS-109 had a different Intensive Training program than that of other Space Shuttle missions. That is because STS-109 was a mission in which they had to service the Hubble Space Telescope. Because of this, their training was different, as they had to be in spacewalks at a higher altitude and had to understand how the ISS works.

Astronauts Training in the NBL

To train AsCans, NASA has many training facilities. Most of these are concentrated in the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. In fact, most astronauts lived in Houston while they were active astronauts. Some of these training facilities include the Space Vehicle Mock-Up Facility (SVMF), the KC-135 Stratotanker (Vomit Comet), and the Precision Air-Bearing Floor (PABF). However, one of the most famous and important training facilities is the Neutral Buoyancy Lab (NBL) in Johnson Space Center. The NBL is a tank that provides an effect of weightlessness and helps astronauts train for navigation in their orbiter and spacewalks. Inside the tank, there is a life-size model of ISS modules. These help astronauts get used to spacewalks and traversing the space station and other orbiters.

NASA Astronauts Using VR
To Train for EVA Spacewalk

There is also a different type of training called Virtual Reality (VR) Training. VR training first started to be used in the 1990s. It was mainly used to train astronauts to use robotic arms and Extravehicular Activities (EVA). VR Training was also used to replace the NBL if something too large to fit in the NBL. Today, VR is used for mission planning, cooperative and interactive designing, engineer problem-solving, and data modeling. To make sure the VR training best simulates what astronauts will actually do, astronaut candidates wear special rigging restricting muscle movement, better simulating what astronauts feel when actually doing a spacewalk. There are many advantages and disadvantages of VR training. VR training is cheaper and easier to train astronauts. VR also gives a sense of realism and is less stressful. However, it is very hard to simulate microgravity using VR. It also doesn’t give the same physiological effects. In the future, VR training is trying to incorporate a way to better simulate microgravity.

Crew of STS-135 Practicing in Simulation

The future of astronaut training is very interesting. With commercial companies like Virgin Galactic and SpaceX, commercial astronauts are becoming bigger and more important to properly train. Currently, standards for commercial astronauts don’t exist. Training will be very different from that of normal astronauts because the goal isn’t to fly the best individual but to keep passengers safe. One of the most important parts of being an astronaut is being medically fit. When astronauts go into space, they are in peak physical condition. This will be hard to regulate for commercial astronauts. This is one of the problems with how to deal with commercial astronauts.

NASA will also have to change its training for long-duration missions to the Moon and Mars. Currently, astronauts train to be in Earth's orbit aboard the ISS. Because of this, they train in weightless environments. Astronauts will also have to have new training as doctors, scientists, engineers, technicians, pilots, and geologists. Astronauts will also have to mentally deal with isolationism. To train for the rough terrain of Mars and the Moon, are working at very unique places including NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NOAA NEEMO), NASA’s Desert Research and Technology Studies (Desert RATS), Envihab, and the Haughton-Mars Project (HMP). These astronauts are also training with robots. This is because NASA hopes to use robots to assist astronauts and make their job easier. Another hard part about training to go to Mars is the time it takes to actually arrive on Mars. The journey is 9 months and NASA scientists are worried that this will lead to a sense of isolationism.

NASA Astronaut Training at Desert RATS

Everyone has once had the dream to become an astronaut. However, with being an astronaut, there is a lot of stress and training. Though there is physical stress, there is also mental stress with isolationism. To combat this, AsCans go through intense training so they can get used to space and can be prepared for any conditions that they will face. There are many facilities that AsCans train in for orbital travel and for travel to the Moon and Mars. It will be interesting to see how space agencies and governments will tackle the problem of commercial astronauts, but maybe one day, you could be orbiting the Earth as a commercial astronaut.

Sources:

“Astronaut Training.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 28 Feb. 2021, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astronaut_training#Purpose_of_training. 

“Astronaut.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 6 Apr. 2021, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astronaut#Training. 

“Desert Research and Technology Studies.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 11 Dec. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desert_Research_and_Technology_Studies. 

“Northrop T-38 Talon.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 20 Feb. 2021, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northrop_T-38_Talon. 

Pradhan, Arnav. What Was the Space Shuttle Program?, Blogger, 25 Feb. 2021, www.theaceofspace.org/2020/12/what-was-space-shuttle-program.html. 

Ritz, et al.