To learn about being considered as a candidate for U.S. astronaut and to apply, go to USAJOBS, which is the official job employment site of the U.S. federal government.

The positions filled by this selection process will train for space missions to possible destinations such as the International Space Station, the Moon, Mars, and asteroids. They will fly onboard the new Orion space capsule, and sometimes even on the Russian Soyuz spacecraft. Flying onboard other space vehicles are also possible as other countries continue to develop their manned space programs, and NASA partners with them for some of their future projects.

Even if you are selected as a NASA astronaut, according to the Federation Aeronautique Internationale (FAI, the standards and records keeping organization for aeronautics and astronautics), a human only becomes a space traveler (an “astronaut”) when having flown over 62 miles (100 kilometers) above the surface of the Earth. According to Space.com, as of March 2006, 443 people from 35 countries possess the official FAI designation of astronaut.

The minimum education and experience requirements to be a member of the elite NASA astronaut corp is a bachelor’s degree in engineering, science, or mathematics and at least three years of relevant professional experience. Physical requirements are also part of the job. All candidates must be U.S. citizens. NASA states that minorities and women are encouraged to apply.

NASA officials are always looking for “qualified and super-motivated” civilian and military engineers, scientists, and pilots for their astronauts. However, according to the NASA website, educators are also being considered for the jobs—those with three years or more of teaching experience that meet the minimum experience standards.

After the July 1, 2008 deadline has past, NASA officials will review the applications, conduct interviews and evaluations, and make their final decision in early 2009.

NASA states, “Applicants should be aware that selection as an astronaut candidate does not ensure selection as an astronaut. Final selection as an astronaut will depend upon satisfactory completion of a training and evaluation period that lasts approximately two years at Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas."

[Author's note: Yes, the person that commented is correct. I've since corrected my statement. The FAI states at http://www.fai.org/sporting_code/sc08.pdf that "All flights must exceed an altitude of 100 km in order to qualify for records."]


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