Parlor Spider...Step In, Little Fly

Insightful thoughts and/or rants from atop the soapbox from one who wishes to share the "right" opinion with everyone.

Tuesday, October 04, 2011

I'm too Busy At the Moment







As High As You Can Legally Get!

My dream as a child was to play shortstop for the New York Yankees. There were many impediments to my reaching the dream, not the least of them was a decided lack of ability to hit a curve ball and an arm that could have been made by a pasta maker. But, one has to remember that this type of dream was about the most glamorous one could find "back in the day." Nobody was close to having actual "men in space" unless it was the Hollywood moguls. Certainly, I was past the dreaming stage (except about getting an actual date) by the time John Glenn circled the earth a few times.
However, when the Teacher in Space program was launched twenty years ago or so, I was right there, filling out a 40-page application, complete with essays, psychological profiles and a picture of me sitting atop an almost-life-sized space shuttle made from snow: adorned with a motorcycle helmet and holding a sign that read, "My turn to fly." While I, no doubt, got some style points, that was about it. But now, my chance has come again: NASA is recruiting astronauts for its class of 2013.
How about you? do you have the "right stuff"? The following is a suggested list of such "stuff," and I have also included the URL to the brochure advertising NASA's need for YOU (imagine a giant finger pointing in your direction as you read that last bit).

THE RIGHT STUFF
The ideal candidate for this position will
1. Have a bachelor's degree in science, engineering or math.
2. Have 3 years' worth of relevant post-graduate work experience (a master's degree may serve as a substitute)
3. Have experience flying high-performance jets
4. Be between the ages of 24-47; though NASA accepts apps from other ages as well, these represent the youngest and oldest selected in the past.
5. Have a blood pressure not exceeding 140/90
6. Be between 5'2" and 6'3"
Have vision that can be correctable to 20/20 (maybe they're looking for Coke sponsorship!)
7. Experience as a civilian or in the military since NASA will select people from both fields.
8. Time for the next two years to spend training in Houston (where it gets really hot).

There you have it: that's all one needs, though I suspect NASA would be willing to waive a few of the requirements for just the right candidate.
No time to waste; check out the brochure and get high legally!

http://astronauts.nasa.gov/content/AstroCandbro_sm_new.pdf

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