NASA announced its 2013 class of astronaut candidates this morning:http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2013/jun/HQ_13-177_2013_Astronaut_Class.htmlMichael Cassutt
Happy to see one former and two current naval aviators on the list! And I believe MAJ Mann is the first female USMC astronaut.
So have they stopped distinguishing between pilot-astronauts and mission specialists, or just didn't make the distinction in the press release?
Quote from: jcm on 06/18/2013 03:30 amSo have they stopped distinguishing between pilot-astronauts and mission specialists, or just didn't make the distinction in the press release?Already in the 2009 astronaut class were no distinction between pilots and MS.
Parmitano (2013) on Soyuz - first long-duration flight (fourth opportunity)Cristoforetti (2014-2015) on Soyuz - second long-duration flight (fifth opportunity)
Quote from: Olaf on 06/18/2013 05:48 amQuote from: jcm on 06/18/2013 03:30 amSo have they stopped distinguishing between pilot-astronauts and mission specialists, or just didn't make the distinction in the press release?Already in the 2009 astronaut class were no distinction between pilots and MS.Olaf is correct. The official distinction disappeared within the astronaut office itself in 2011 . . .nevertheless, ASCANS and astronauts who are military pilots (and qualified for front seat in the T-38) are required to log more flying time than the others, on the order of 200 hours/year to 50/year. In the new class, that would seem to apply to only Glover and Mann.Michael Cassutt
I might be wrong, but I was under the impression that Parmitiano is flying as an Italian and Cristoforetti as a European . . .In other words: I thought the 2013 slot was ASI-based and the 2014/15 ESA-based.Edit: Quickly checked the FPIP. It seems I was right: Cristoforetti is not using an ASI Slot. Parmitiano is.
Quickly checked the FPIP. It seems I was right: Cristoforetti is not using an ASI Slot. Parmitiano is
See document, posted by Stan Black on previous page (page :"First ASI ISS long duration flight opportunity: Luca Parmitano in ISS 36/37Second ASI ISS long duration flight opportunity: Samantha Cristoforetti in ISS 42/43Third ASI ISS long duration flight opportunity to be assigned"
Quote from: Michael Cassutt on 06/18/2013 02:11 pmQuote from: Olaf on 06/18/2013 05:48 amQuote from: jcm on 06/18/2013 03:30 amSo have they stopped distinguishing between pilot-astronauts and mission specialists, or just didn't make the distinction in the press release?Already in the 2009 astronaut class were no distinction between pilots and MS.Olaf is correct. The official distinction disappeared within the astronaut office itself in 2011 . . .nevertheless, ASCANS and astronauts who are military pilots (and qualified for front seat in the T-38) are required to log more flying time than the others, on the order of 200 hours/year to 50/year. In the new class, that would seem to apply to only Glover and Mann.Michael CassuttThanks Mike and Olaf, very interesting! So the 'second class citizen' status of the 'scientist astronaut' that we've had since 1965 is gone? Do you think this is a permanent change, or will some formal distinction reappear once Orion is flying?
Quote from: jcm on 06/18/2013 08:28 pmQuote from: Michael Cassutt on 06/18/2013 02:11 pmQuote from: Olaf on 06/18/2013 05:48 amQuote from: jcm on 06/18/2013 03:30 amSo have they stopped distinguishing between pilot-astronauts and mission specialists, or just didn't make the distinction in the press release?Already in the 2009 astronaut class were no distinction between pilots and MS.Olaf is correct. The official distinction disappeared within the astronaut office itself in 2011 . . .nevertheless, ASCANS and astronauts who are military pilots (and qualified for front seat in the T-38) are required to log more flying time than the others, on the order of 200 hours/year to 50/year. In the new class, that would seem to apply to only Glover and Mann.Michael CassuttThanks Mike and Olaf, very interesting! So the 'second class citizen' status of the 'scientist astronaut' that we've had since 1965 is gone? Do you think this is a permanent change, or will some formal distinction reappear once Orion is flying?Thought I had answered this.... must have pressed the wrong button.Anyway, first, I would object to the idea that mission specialist or non-military test pilots within the astronaut office are second-class citizens. While this was undeniably true from 1965 to the mid 1970s, and while, yes, pilots had the privilege of command, mission specialists really got most of the fun and and equal amount of acclaim. And the last two chiefs of the astronaut office have been career MS.As for titles, you're not going to see pilot/mission specialist categories with Orion or commercial . . . while there will undoubtedly be one astronaut in every crew who has a flying background and experience, NASA is likely to use a term like "operator", with an Operator-1 having one set of responsibilities, Operator-2 another, and so on, depending on the mission and the individuals. (Even now, on ISS, you have some FEs with EVA experience and qualification, and some who don't.)Michael Cassutt
Quote from: Michael Cassutt on 06/19/2013 03:01 pmQuote from: jcm on 06/18/2013 08:28 pmQuote from: Michael Cassutt on 06/18/2013 02:11 pmQuote from: Olaf on 06/18/2013 05:48 amQuote from: jcm on 06/18/2013 03:30 amSo have they stopped distinguishing between pilot-astronauts and mission specialists, or just didn't make the distinction in the press release?Already in the 2009 astronaut class were no distinction between pilots and MS.Olaf is correct. The official distinction disappeared within the astronaut office itself in 2011 . . .nevertheless, ASCANS and astronauts who are military pilots (and qualified for front seat in the T-38) are required to log more flying time than the others, on the order of 200 hours/year to 50/year. In the new class, that would seem to apply to only Glover and Mann.Michael CassuttThanks Mike and Olaf, very interesting! So the 'second class citizen' status of the 'scientist astronaut' that we've had since 1965 is gone? Do you think this is a permanent change, or will some formal distinction reappear once Orion is flying?Thought I had answered this.... must have pressed the wrong button.Anyway, first, I would object to the idea that mission specialist or non-military test pilots within the astronaut office are second-class citizens. While this was undeniably true from 1965 to the mid 1970s, and while, yes, pilots had the privilege of command, mission specialists really got most of the fun and and equal amount of acclaim. And the last two chiefs of the astronaut office have been career MS.As for titles, you're not going to see pilot/mission specialist categories with Orion or commercial . . . while there will undoubtedly be one astronaut in every crew who has a flying background and experience, NASA is likely to use a term like "operator", with an Operator-1 having one set of responsibilities, Operator-2 another, and so on, depending on the mission and the individuals. (Even now, on ISS, you have some FEs with EVA experience and qualification, and some who don't.)Michael CassuttMichael - thanks for your answer! (and hope you're well btw, long time no see..)I was of course being a bit deliberately provocative..although my impression had been that it was only in the late 90s that the MS's got to have the same status level as the pilots, I of course defer to your much more direct insight into the corps - very interesting.Trust NASA to come up with a way to reduce the romance of 'astronaut' to the bureaucratic blandness of 'operator'...regards, Jonathan
Wouldn't "spaceman" have been a more exciting word than "astronaut"?
Quote from: Michael Cassutt on 06/20/2013 03:12 pmWouldn't "spaceman" have been a more exciting word than "astronaut"? Not if you're a spacewoman!