NASA selects servicemembers to explore space
by Army Sgt. 1st Class Doug Sample
American Forces Press Service
5/11/2004 - WASHINGTION (AFPN) -- Four servicemembers were among 11 candidates NASA has chosen to be the next generation of space explorers, officials announced May 6.
Maj. James Dutton, 35, and Marine Corps Maj. Randolph Bresnik, 36, were chosen to be space shuttle pilots. Navy Lt. Cmdr. Christopher Cassidy, 34, and Army Maj. Shane Kimbrough, 36, will be mission specialists.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration grounded shuttle flights after the Feb. 1, 2003, breakup of Columbia above north-central Texas as it maneuvered for landing at the Kennedy Space Center, Fla. The shuttle was slated to land in about 15 minutes when the accident happened, killing all seven astronauts including five U.S. military officers.
Agency officials announced April 30 their intent to resume the flight program in spring 2005.
Major Dutton, an F/A-22 Raptor test pilot at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., has flown combat air patrols over northern Iraq. He was raised in Eugene, Ore., and has degrees from the U.S. Air Force Academy and the University of Washington.
Four civilians -- three school teachers and an orthopedic surgeon -- will join the servicemembers when their training begins this summer at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.
The astronauts are the "next steps in the new exploration vision," said Sean O'Keefe, NASA administrator.
"The class is made up of pilots and engineers who will help us develop the next-generation vehicle, scientists who will do research to help humans live and travel in space, and three new educator astronauts to help ensure a new generation is ready for the challenges of exploration," he said.
According to NASA's Web site, astronaut candidates undergo a training and evaluation period of up to two years, part of which requires completion of military water survival and scuba qualification. Candidates must pass a swimming test during their first month of training. The test includes swimming three lengths of a 25-meter pool without stopping, and then swimming three lengths of the pool in a flight suit and tennis shoes.
Candidates also undergo land survival training, jet ground and flight training, shuttle orbiter systems training, space station systems training, and science and engineering briefings. They also receive orientation tours at all NASA centers, including the Kennedy Space Center and Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.
The candidates are the first announced by NASA under President Bush's new space initiative. In early 2004, the president committed the United States to long-term human and robotic programs to explore the solar system, starting with a return to the moon as well as future exploration of Mars.
"We will give NASA a new focus and vision for future exploration," the president said. |
|
|
|
Printable story
E-mail story
Advanced Search