So you want to be an Astronaut

Not really an off topic as some believe attending a service academy increases one's chance of becoming an astronaut. According to Wiki, USNA has most astronauts.
 
My buddy is an Astronaut right now... so yeah its possible! Every time I read an article in it with them reference I always think... Man I haven't achieved anything in life! Then again my best friend was a Blue Angel... man, my life is so boring! ;)
 
NavyHoops said:
My buddy is an Astronaut right now... so yeah its possible! Every time I read an article in it with them reference I always think... Man I haven't achieved anything in life! Then again my best friend was a Blue Angel... man, my life is so boring! ;)
Click to expand...

Yeh, but look at it this way, we all have all sorts of exciting things left to do in life and after retirement. They've pretty much peaked and everything is downhill:scratch:
 
Hahaha! They are actually both are great humans and although they have had the coolest jobs most of us could think of, neither of them would ever brag about it. It's just a part of their life, not all of it. Both would say being a parent, spouse and officer were much greater things for them!
 
I have close knowledge of 2 USAFA grads that were astronauts: Ron Sega (74) was one of my college profs back way back in the day and Jim Dutton (91) was one of DS's IP's at USAFA a couple years back.

I'd have to say it doesn't hurt to be an SA grad since you should have a better chance for a pilot slot; more importantly I think you need to be a kick ass pilot, and the desire!

BTW, Sega (who was also a pilot) was a mission specialist performing EMF experiments at the ISS; Dutton was the actual pilot of the space shuttle.
 
Falcon A said:
While 2 are Navy officers and 1 is a Marine, only the Marine is a USNA grad. Class also included 1 USAFA and 2 USMA grads. 2 are civilians from civilian universities
Click to expand...
It's a small samply size, but I wonder if they have some preference from USMA grads. It seems strange to me that they are so well represented despite the low number of aviation slots USMA has for graduates.
 
I don't think there is any preference towards USMA. As you noted, very small sample size.

At one point, the school to have been from was Purdue: http://www.purdue.edu/space/astronauts.html

Selection is based on the individual. As you can tell from the short blurbs written on each astronaut, they are all very accomplished.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top