Editing Astronaut (section)

==Training==
[[File:Gemini 5 Elliot See water egress training.jpg|right|thumb|upright|[[Elliot See]] during water egress training with NASA (1965)]]
{{Main|Astronaut training}}
{{See also|Astronaut ranks and positions}}
The first NASA astronauts were selected for training in 1959.<ref name="comet">{{cite web|url=http://aerospacescholars.jsc.nasa.gov/HAS/cirr/ss/3/3.cfm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070819111027/http://aerospacescholars.jsc.nasa.gov/HAS/cirr/ss/3/3.cfm|archive-date=19 August 2007|title=Astronaut Candidate Training|access-date=4 October 2007 |publisher=NASA|year=2006|url-status=dead|author=NASA}}</ref> Early in the space program, military jet test piloting and engineering training were often cited as prerequisites for selection as an astronaut at NASA, although neither John Glenn nor Scott Carpenter (of the [[Mercury Seven]]) had any university degree, in engineering or any other discipline at the time of their selection. Selection was initially limited to military pilots.<ref name="training">{{cite web|url=http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/academy/astronauts/training.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19970215192726/http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/academy/astronauts/training.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=15 February 1997 |title=Selection and Training of Astronauts |access-date=4 October 2007 |publisher=NASA |year=1995 |author=NASA }}</ref><ref name="nolen">{{cite book| last = Nolen| first = Stephanie| title = Promised The Moon: The Untold Story of the First Women in the Space Race| year = 2002| publisher = Penguin Canada| location = Toronto| isbn = 978-0-14-301347-1| page = [https://archive.org/details/promisedmoonunto0000nole_k7a8/page/235 235]| url-access = registration| url = https://archive.org/details/promisedmoonunto0000nole_k7a8/page/235}}</ref> The earliest astronauts for both the US and the USSR tended to be [[fighter aircraft|jet fighter]] pilots, and were often test pilots.

Once selected, NASA astronauts go through twenty months of training in a variety of areas, including training for [[extravehicular activity]] in a facility such as NASA's [[Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory]].<ref name="fact"/><ref name="training"/> Astronauts-in-training (astronaut candidates) may also experience short periods of [[weightlessness]] ([[Micro-g environment|microgravity]]) in an aircraft called the "[[Vomit Comet]]," the nickname given to a pair of modified [[KC-135]]s (retired in 2000 and 2004, respectively, and replaced in 2005 with a [[McDonnell Douglas C-9|C-9]]) which perform [[Parabola|parabolic]] flights.<ref name="comet"/> Astronauts are also required to accumulate a number of flight hours in high-performance jet aircraft. This is mostly done in [[T-38 Talon|T-38 jet aircraft]] out of [[Ellington Field]], due to its proximity to the [[Johnson Space Center]]. Ellington Field is also where the [[Shuttle Training Aircraft]] is maintained and developed, although most flights of the aircraft are conducted from [[Edwards Air Force Base]].

Astronauts in training must learn how to control and fly the Space Shuttle; further, it is vital that they are familiar with the International Space Station so they know what they must do when they get there.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/5-8/features/F_Astronauts_in_Training.html|title=NASA – Astronauts in Training|website=www.nasa.gov|others=Denise Miller: MSFC|access-date=3 April 2018|archive-date=9 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109013220/https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/5-8/features/F_Astronauts_in_Training.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===NASA candidacy requirements===
{{hatnote|Unless otherwise noted, the following data are incorporated from the Astronaut Requirements article by 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 a 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.

====Mission Specialist Educator====
{{Main|Educator Astronaut Project}}
* Applicants must have a bachelor's degree with teaching experience, including work at the kindergarten through twelfth grade level. An advanced degree, such as a master's degree or a doctoral degree, is not required, but is strongly desired.<ref name="announce">{{cite web|url=http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2007/sep/HQ_07196_astronaut_recruitment.html|title=NASA Opens Applications for New Astronaut Class|access-date=4 October 2007 |publisher=NASA|year=2007|author=NASA| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070927081538/http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2007/sep/HQ_07196_astronaut_recruitment.html| archive-date= 27 September 2007 | url-status= live}}</ref>
[[Educator Astronaut Project|Mission Specialist Educators]], or "Educator Astronauts", were first selected in 2004; as of 2007, there are three NASA Educator astronauts: [[Joseph M. Acaba]], [[Richard R. Arnold]], and [[Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger]].<ref name="nexgen">{{cite web|url=http://www.nasa.gov/vision/space/preparingtravel/ascan2004.html|title='Next Generation of Explorers' Named|access-date=4 October 2007|publisher=NASA|year=2004|author=NASA|archive-date=26 November 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071126075519/http://www.nasa.gov/vision/space/preparingtravel/ascan2004.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="ed">{{cite web| url=http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2004/oct/HQ_n04160_new_ascans.html| title=NASA's New Astronauts Meet The Press| access-date=4 October 2007| publisher=NASA| year=2004| author=NASA| archive-date=6 January 2008| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080106093240/http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2004/oct/HQ_n04160_new_ascans.html| url-status=live}}</ref>
[[Barbara Morgan]], selected as back-up teacher to [[Christa McAuliffe]] in 1985, is considered to be the first Educator astronaut by the media, but she trained as a mission specialist.<ref name="morgan1">{{cite web|url=http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/morgan.html|title=Barbara Radding Morgan – NASA Astronaut biography|access-date=4 October 2007 |publisher=NASA|year=2007|author=NASA| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071002195136/http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/morgan.html| archive-date= 2 October 2007 | url-status= live}}</ref>
The Educator Astronaut program is a successor to the [[Teacher in Space]] program from the 1980s.<ref name="fly">{{cite web|url=http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/space_educator_030203.html |title=NASA Assures That Teachers Will Fly in Space |access-date=4 October 2007 |publisher=Space.com |year=2007 |author=Tariq Malik |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061125035402/http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/space_educator_030203.html |archive-date=25 November 2006 }}</ref><ref name="nasa">{{cite web|url=http://wwwedu.ssc.nasa.gov/neap.asp |title=Educator Astronaut Program |access-date=4 October 2007 |publisher=NASA |year=2005 |author=NASA |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080516050936/https://wwwedu.ssc.nasa.gov/neap.asp |archive-date=16 May 2008 }}</ref>