Astronaut

An astronaut is a person who travels in space. The word astro­naut means “star traveler.” The Russians (who, as part of the Soviet Union, led the way in manned space­flight in the early 1960s) use the name cosmonaut for their space travelers.

Astronaut Profile

Almost all people who have traveled in space are trained to be professional astronauts. A few people fly as passen­gers, however, after a short period of preparation for spaceflight. Most of the first astronauts came from a military background, but astronauts today include civilian specialists in engineer­ing, space medicine, electronics, and other fields of science. Most astronauts today fly in the Space Shuttle or are sta­tioned aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

The United States and the former Soviet Union have sent more astronauts into space than any other nation. A number of other nations’ astronauts have flown on U. S. or Soviet missions. A few countries, such as China, have launched their own astronauts.

Astronauts must be well educated and physically fit. Many astronauts are experienced aviation pilots. During space training, they experience weight­lessness (being without gravity) to get used to conditions in space. Before every mission, the selected crew of astronauts and their backup crew practice the tasks

TYPES OF ASTRONAUT

Space Shuttle astronauts are desig­nated in one of three categories: pilots, mission specialists, or payload specialists. Pilots are highly trained flight professionals with jet aircraft experience who are in charge of the spacecraft. They operate and navi­gate the spacecraft and keep its occupants safe. A mission specialist carries out tasks and operates onboard equipment. Mission special­ists, for example, will use robotic arms or even leave a spacecraft to perform repairs. They take care of any payload, such as scientific equipment, that is being taken into space. Payload specialists are usually scientists rather than professional astronauts, and they are in space to perform a particular experiment or task.

that will be carried out in space. This training often takes place in simulators that use computerized virtual displays to give astronauts some experi­ence handling situations that might occur during a spaceflight. Trainee astronauts also work inside a full-size model of their spacecraft to familiarize themselves with its layout and fea­tures. When fully trained, an astronaut may have to wait a long time before being assigned to a mission.