/sci/ - Science & Math

Yeah. Just train, train, train and be patient if you want it to be in the USA. Be healthy, no drugs, exercise 5+ times a week. If you don't care where, I would suggest Japan or Russia, who are planning manned moon missions soon. Private companies are a possibility these days too.

If you stick around for NASA, there is going to be a manned Mars mission as soon as the redesign of the space shuttle concept is finished. Maybe by 2020?

Also, a background in science/engineering is clutch.

Canada's never had that big of a space program and it's getting cut heavily now, I think there's been a total of eleven Canadian astronauts hitching a ride with the maericans. USA is trying to move towards privatized space flight, so you'll probably need to send in a resume to Virgin Galactic if you want that job.

>>4844025
Well I'm going to be goign to grad school for physics/astronomy, do i need a phd or just a bachelors really?

You need a phd in a scientific field.
You need to be fit as hell.
You might also need some experience in piloting.

If you meet these qualifications then you should sign up, the list is fairly long (300-600 people), but you never know they might pick you.

>>4844030
Oh shit, I remember reading somewhere that I need an insane amount of hours in real piloting

Now where the fuck is an astronomy student going to get that

>>4844033

You don't need any piloting experience. There are many astronauts who have been in space and don't know shit about flying planes.

It all depends on what you want to contribute to the team. There are systems engineers, researchers, pilots, and several others all aboard one space shuttle.

PhD would be nice, also not necessary. Connections/networking/persistence would help.

The fuck? There's a height requirement for astronauts?

Private Sector is increasing, so aim for that instead.

>>4844030
That's really all you need?

What about vision? Would I need to get laser eye surgery if I wear contacts?

>>4844052
It's like 5'5"-6'4" or something like that.

You only need pilot skills if you're going to be a pilot, not if your just a mission specialist. But if you want to be a commander or xo then you should go into one of the military flight services. Flying Navy transports should be fine. (you don't need to fly fighters)

>>4844155
not OP, but i'm going this route. would flying fighters be a better choice or would it matter all?
i have a plan that guarantees i'll be working for either DARPA, NASA, or private sector space exploration by the time i'm 30.