How Much of an Astronauts Time is Actually Spent in Space?
It is no surprise that astronauts undergo rigorous, lengthy training to do their jobs. They join the Astronaut Corps, usually as pilots or mission specialists, but then what? When do they go into space? How much time do they spend in space? The truth is, an astronaut’s time is spent in far more training and preparing to go into space than is actually spent in space. An astronaut’s time is largely spent in the simulator and in other training arenas, if they are slated for the upcoming mission. As the U.S. space program stands right now, the Space Shuttle is the only means of launching humans into space, so an astronaut’s time in space depends on how often the Shuttle is launched and what missions it is slated to perform. Will it dock with the International Space Station or will it be primarily a science mission? All these factors help decide which astronauts will be slated to fly on which missions. Astronaut pilots, for example, will probably go on one or two missions to train as co-pil
It is no surprise that astronauts undergo rigorous, lengthy training to do their jobs. They join the Astronaut Corps, usually as pilots or mission specialists, but then what? When do they go into space? How much time do they spend in space? The truth is, an astronaut’s time is spent in far more training and preparing to go into space than is actually spent in space. An astronaut’s time is largely spent in the simulator and in other training arenas, if they are slated for the upcoming mission. As the U.S. space program stands right now, the Space Shuttle is the only means of launching humans into space, so an astronaut’s time in space depends on how often the Shuttle is launched and what missions it is slated to perform. Will it dock with the International Space Station or will it be primarily a science mission? All these factors help decide which astronauts will be slated to fly on which missions. Astronaut pilots, for example, will probably go on one or two missions to train as co-p
