Should I try to become an astronaut?
 

It's something I've always thought would be cool, but I'm a little hesitant about NASA's future these days. I have the educational background to be a mission specialist, I would just need the work experience. At this point in my career/education I'm kind of at a cross-roads where I need to decide if I want to move more toward management type work or stick with more of the dedicated engineering type work. Ideally I'd like to do sometype of management in the space systems field which would lend itself to being an astronaut, but realistically I'll end up in some type of commercial aviation which would quash that. I'm mostly just thinking out loud, but any opinions? Astronaut just doesn't seem like as good of a job as it used to be.

JC

Doooo eeeeiiit!!!

Really, how many people have the smarts and opportunity to give it a shot?

My wife says I'm not allowed to go into space. If you have the opportunity then take it.

So what if it's not? After you're an astronaut, if it sucks, you go someplace you want to work and say "I'm an astronaut, bitch. Gimme a job."

Dumbass, you think any of us average citizens are gonna tell you that being an astronaut is a poor career move? :lol:

I've always thought that if I had the opportunity to go back into time, I'd like to go back during the time of the dinosaurs because it an era in which NO MAN has ever seen. Being that's not possible, I believe it would be a wise choice to have the possible opportunity that only a handful of man in the history of man kind has had a chance to do, see and experiance that no one else will ever even fathom of experiancing. I say go astronaunt.

Yeah and as an added bonus when the meteor comes at us you'll be the one pulling the trigger to stop it while floating in space, and bannging a hot brunette on the side.

So what you are saying is that I should become a time traveler instead? haha I mean my feeling is that astronauts don't really explore anything anymore and fairly soon anyone will be able to take a trip into space. Will being an astronaut really be anything special?

One of the groups here at Tech is working on space defense against meteors. I've seen the current stuff we have, I can assure you we are fairly screwed at this point.

Astronaut dude! Go for it! Going into space would be AWESOME! And the chicks would dig it! Shit, I could probably pull some "association ass" just by knowing you!




"Hey baby, I've got a friend who's an astronaut!" [panties dropping]

Buy a VW Van and become a Surf Bum!

Just joking, Astronauts get all the free tang they want!

Do you think that we'll ever go to Mars? That would be cool.

If you have the opportunity to do it, then you should. I think your mistaken about the future of the NASA program, I think in the near future with the added pressure from the two private companies putting space travel in the grasp of the general "RICH" public, the NASA program will be looking to raise the bar and move towards deep space. New Galaxies. Alien Tang!

oh and in the classic prose of mr miyagi.....there is no try....you either do or you don't!

dude, that was yoda. ;)

Well I knew it was a short dude with very little hair and a speech impediment :lol: "wax on......wax off"

LOL@yoda vs miyogi

Thats a fight I would watch.

Anyway back on topic so I don't hijack, dude very few people follow their dreams and if you have enough drive it seems your already in a position to make it. Now just drive it home. My dream is to have a street driven 11 second SVX and to go back to school...to achieve the former I would have to forsake the later because of money issues and some BS about one being important for my futur blah blah blah. The SVX is funner(sweet, proper english ftl) but not as important. You my friend would have a lot of fun on your journey! I say go for it.

Oh I just heard, all the newer spacecraft have bugeyes!

Ya well it would be a while, don't go dumping your chick just yet. ;)

Ya eventually, but I think space exploration will largely continue to be unmanned. It's cheaper and we get the same or more scientific benefit as manned exploration. Manned exploration is significantly cooler, but there is just no budget for it. I hate to say it, but we could explore a lot more if we just stopped the manned exploration programs.

I doubt it, the privateers aren't really competition for NASA. They are strictly for novelty value of this point. If they start taking people on tours of the moon for example, NASA might get public pressure that they aren't doing enough, but I think that would be the extent of it.

If anyone is interested in this stuff, there is a book called Entering Space by Robert Zubrin. I highly recommend it and most of it is non-technical.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/158...Fencoding=UTF8

Have we been to the moon JC?

Yes and there was nothing there. :p (note there are some materials that might be worth while mining there, but we had no idea at the time)

Anybody else a little concerned about this assessment? :eek:

I try not to get worked up about stuff I absolutely have no control over. Hand of God or somesuch.

And in contrast, I go in to a frothing, raging panic every time I think about it.


. . . ok, not really. I'm with Nick. "Fuhgeddabouddit" :P

:lol: