Astronaut training
The American Space Agency, NASA, trains astronauts practise for spacewalks
at the Johnson Space Centre near Houston, Texas.
(The training lasts between 12 and 22 months.)
.
Astronaut training
- bachelor’s degree in science, maths or engineering and a minimum of three years professional experience are the basic qualifications for astronauts training.
- early astronauts were familiarised with the extreme forces experienced during lift-off by being fired along a rail board a rocket-powered sled at speed of up to 600 miles per hour.
- huge spinning centrifuges are now used to ensure that potential astronauts can withstand the strong ‘G-forces’ that can be expected during a flight into space.
- astronauts practise for spacewalks in a huge tank of water that simulates weightlessness through neutral buoyancy.
.
After Training successfully?
- At NASA, a silver lapel pin is given to people who successfully complete the astronaut training program; once they have flown in space, they receive a gold pin.
.
Back to Exploring Space’s  page.