Pilot-cosmonaut selection requirements?

[Suzy]

I was asked about the selection requirements for pilot-cosmonauts, and I have no idea! I assume they would come from the Russian Air Force? (As an example, NASA has a page  on their astronaut selection requirements.) The GCTC site  doesn't give any information at all, annoyingly.

[anik]

Suzy - 18/5/2008  7:08 AM

The GCTC site doesn't give any information at all, annoyingly

Annoyingly? No, at all!

In Russia the selection of candidates for cosmonauts is not public process. It is the closed selection, which is conducting only from Russian Air Force, RSC Energia and IMBP, so requirements are known only to people from them. There is no need of publishing these data openly for "outsiders", because "outsiders" can not be selected.

[Suzy]

anik - 18/5/2008  5:21 PM  Annoyingly? No, at all!  In Russia the selection of candidates for cosmonauts is not public process. It is the closed selection, which is conducting only from Russian Air Force, RSC Energia and IMBP, so requirements are known only to people from them. There is no need of publishing these data openly for "outsiders", because "outsiders" can not be selected.

  Would the requirements be much the same as for NASA pilots (good eyesight, lots of flying hours, be in a certain height range)?

[anik]

Suzy - 18/5/2008  11:56 AM

Would the requirements be much the same as for NASA pilots (good eyesight, lots of flying hours, be in a certain height range)?

I do not know. I think main requirements are excellent health and certain height and mass (150-190 cm (upright), 80-99 cm (sitting) and 50-95 kg for Soyuz TMA spacecrafts). I am not sure about flying hours.

[Rex]

The AF picks young pilots who will make a career as a cosmonaut.
Most have fewer than 500 hours. They do very little flying post selection except for flights in L 39's. They have to undertake extensive parachute training many gaining instructor status.
Some have a higher engineering qualification but most attend University during there early years of training. It is a very different process than NASA. In recent time they select 4 to 5 pilots every 3 or 4 years. The fitting into the Soyuz certainly is a requirement. They undertake a 2 year initial training course and then do generic training for years which can include a university course or secondment to an agency. They support the training programme of crews. Each get 8 months in Houston. they undergo extensive English training. The current expectation is that they are likely to wait up to 10 years before a flight but this should speed up as we move to 4 Soyuz Launches a year. Medical testing is extensive.

The exception to this profile was when Buran was in development they selected a couple of groups where initial test pilot training and they had got approx 3000 hours. Cosmonauts in this group included Afanasyev, Manakov, Artsebarsky and Tokarev. The 1976 group were ordinary pilots sent for Test Pilot training and achieved around 1500 hours. They included Volkov senior, Vasyutin, Titov V, Solovyov and Viktorenko among others. When Buran was cancelled they reverted to the previous selection criteria.

Rex

[Suzy]

Thanks!