A Space Shuttle Pilot

[pkonowrocki]

Hey people !!!

I know it might sound crazy to some of you, but I was wondering what do a person have to do in order to become a NASA Space Shuttle pilot ? I mean except for being healthy and all that stuff, do you need a perfect physics and math knowledge or something else ? I googled it and checked on nasa.gov but did not find an answer.
Hope you guys can help and tell me what are the requirements for being a space shuttle pilot.
Thanks

edit: PS. It does not have to be a pilot can be anyone from the space shuttle crew - what are the requirements ?

[scramjet]

You'll need a graduate degree in Engineering as well as be a test pilot. The exact requirements are something like the following:

• 1000 PIC jet time flight test experience (actual competitive time will be much higher), technically, any 1000 PIC jet time is acceptable, but practically all pilot astronauts have been test pilots
• at least a bachelor's degree in the sciences, most competitively in engineering (practically all have graduate degrees) quoted: "engineering, biological science, physical science, or mathematics. An advanced degree is desirable. Quality of academic preparation is important."
• passing extensive flight physical

The space shuttle will be retired within the next few years, however. The new craft will also have pilot astronauts, but I highly doubt the US manned space program continuing on as it has been planned. Do you want to do it eventually as a career? I do (and people laugh at me when I say I do), but I'm not gunning for any government posts, but rather the rising manned commercial space industry. Serious research I have been doing has indicated that most commercial manned ops will (if they ever work) hire high time jet pilots without test piloting being a necessary requirement. Plus, their pilots will also in most cases participate in ground control when not flying, which means that even if its an unmmanned flight, you'd still be building aerospace technology experience. This leaves me free to fly the airliners I have always wanted to fly to be experience.

here's a NASA website detailing requirements, mission specialist (non pilot crew) requirements are detailed too:
http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstud...uirements.html

[pkonowrocki]

Thanks man. That's what I was looking for

Sounds like a lot of hard work in order to become a shuttle pilot... what scarres me the most is the bachelor's degree in those sciences....crap but well i can try lol.

I don't know if that's what I want to do in my life. Well being a space shuttle pilot would of course be great but I know that it is probably really hard to get there...and people laugh at me when i say that i want to be a pilot (I wonder what would they do if I've said that i want to be a shuttle pilot lol). But I can't care less.

Anyway thanks for your help and the link. It was really interesting to read. Btw. do you have to have the exact blood pressure as they say ?

Thanx again and maybe we'll meet at NASA some doy lol

[screaming_emu]

to start, by not doing these things

http://www.jetphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?t=35987