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18,300 apply to be astronauts. How will NASA choose 14?
http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2016/0220/18-300-apply-to-be-astronauts.-How-will-NASA-choose-14
18,300 apply to be astronauts. How will NASA choose 14?
NASA's latest, record-breaking applicant pool included more than a thousand applicants for every available astronaut slot.
By Christina Beck, Staff February 20, 2016
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) closed the application window for its 2017 class of astronauts on Thursday, after some 18,300 applicants submitted their names for just eight to 14 spots.
The extraordinary number of applicants shattered a nearly 40-year-old record: in 1978, NASA received just 8,000 applicants to its astronaut program.
“It’s heartening to know so many people recognize what a great opportunity this is to be part of NASA’s exciting mission,” said Johnson Space Center director of operations Brian Kelly in a press release. “I look forward to meeting the men and women talented enough to rise to the top of what is always a pool of incredible applicants.”
The application window opened in December 2015 for the first time since 2011. NASA promoted the opportunity on social media platforms such as Reddit.
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18,300 apply to be astronauts. How will NASA choose 14?
NASA's latest, record-breaking applicant pool included more than a thousand applicants for every available astronaut slot.
By Christina Beck, Staff February 20, 2016
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) closed the application window for its 2017 class of astronauts on Thursday, after some 18,300 applicants submitted their names for just eight to 14 spots.
The extraordinary number of applicants shattered a nearly 40-year-old record: in 1978, NASA received just 8,000 applicants to its astronaut program.
“It’s heartening to know so many people recognize what a great opportunity this is to be part of NASA’s exciting mission,” said Johnson Space Center director of operations Brian Kelly in a press release. “I look forward to meeting the men and women talented enough to rise to the top of what is always a pool of incredible applicants.”
The application window opened in December 2015 for the first time since 2011. NASA promoted the opportunity on social media platforms such as Reddit.
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3 replies
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So sad... that the US Congress won't fund NASA's manned space program. Nor it's new vehicles.
They're just thumbing a ride.
Astronauts are not universally reveled for nothing. And that goes way beyond having the "right stuff" (which they all have in spades). It is a universal character that somehow humans can rise above our differences and take us all above petty squabbles, to look at our situation from new perspectives.
It is a characteristic that transforms humans beyond often insane politics.
It may take hundreds of thousands of applicants to find 14 such people. One only hopes that they are vetted well.
