On Wednesday, NASA reviewed the applications and selected 12 astronauts (7 men and 5 women) who can be flown on the next generation ship.
Among the past are doctors, scientists, engineers, military officers and pilots. Their age: 29-42 years. During the official part of the presentation at the Johnson Space Center, the group was welcomed by Vice President Mike Pence. He confirmed that Donald Trump supports the development of space missions and is going to consolidate America’s leadership in this matter.
Applications were received from 18,300 people. 12 newcomers will join the current group of 44 NASA astronauts. The training will take 2 years, after which they can travel on a commercial rocket to the ISS or fly beyond the Moon in Orion. SpaceX and Boeing are working on capsules that function as a taxi on the Earth-ISS route. New astronauts dream of flying, but they may have to wait much longer. Some of the 2009 group still stand in line. But participants say it is worth it.
This is the 22nd group, and the first (“Mercury”) was selected in 1959. If in general, then 350 Americans were among the lucky ones who will become astronauts. Requirements include: US citizenship, a degree in science, mathematics, engineering, or technology, and 3 years of work experience or 1,000 hours of piloting.
