yee@trident.arc.nasa.gov (Peter E. Yee) (05/03/91)
Ed Campion Headquarters, Washington, D.C. May 2, 1991 (Phone: 202/453-1134) Barbara Schwartz Johnson Space Center, Houston (Phone: 713/483-5111) RELEASE: 91-67 NEW ASTRONAUT CANDIDATES SOUGHT BY NASA NASA conducts astronaut candidate selections on a 2-year cycle and has scheduled the next class of candidates for July 1992. Interested individuals may apply until the cut-off date of July 1, 1991. Applications received after the deadline will be eligible for consideration in the next selection cycle. After a 6-month process including screening of applications, interviews and medical evaluations, selections will be announced early in 1992, and the new candidates will report to the Johnson Space Center, Houston, in July. The limited number of selections to be made every 2 years is based on projected requirements. There are two types of astronaut candidate positions -- mission specialist and pilot. Successful pilot applicants typically have extensive piloting experience in high- performance jet aircraft and flight test experience. Successful applicants for the mission specialist positions typically have significant backgrounds in the sciences (materials science, Earth science, medical science and space science) or engineering. This year, because of the requirements of some future payloads and experiments, NASA is particularly interested in individuals with backgrounds in medical sciences research, microgravity research and materials processing. All applicants for the Astronaut Candidate Program must be U.S. citizens. An application package may be obtained by writing to : NASA Johnson Space Center Attn: AHX Astronaut Selection Office Houston, TX 77058