World Book at NASA for Students
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An astronaut is a person who pilots a spacecraft or works on one. Astronaut is the name used in the United States. Cosmonaut is the name used in Russia.
In the United States, most astronauts work for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). NASA chooses two kinds of astronauts: pilots and mission specialists.
Image to right: Cosmonaut Yuri I. Onufrienko works in the Destiny laboratory aboard the International Space Station. Credit: NASA
Pilot astronauts must have more than 1,000 hours of experience flying airplanes before they begin their training. They command and pilot the spacecraft.
Mission astronauts must have at least three years of experience in the work they will do on the spacecraft. They take care of the spacecraft, do experiments, launch satellites and walk in space.
NASA sometimes also chooses astronauts called payload specialists. Payload specialists are scientists who do scientific experiments in space.
The astronauts train at the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. They study science spacecraft tracking and other subjects. They also have flight training. Mission specialists are not pilots, but they learn how airplanes work and get some flying practice.
All astronauts learn survival skills. They need to know what to do if the spacecraft lands in the sea or in a hard-to-reach area on land. Astronauts also have mission training. They study the spacecraft and its equipment.
Astronauts are not always sent on space flights right away. While they are waiting, they work on engineering and other jobs. But once they are chosen for a crew, they begin training in machines called simulators. These machines are as much like a space flight as possible. The astronauts learn to solve problems that might come up in space. They also train in models of the spacecraft.
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Astronauts may also work on the ground. They give information and instructions to crews in space. They work with engineers and scientists. They also suggest changes to improve the spacecraft and equipment.
Image to left: Dressed in space suits, two mission specialists work in space on the International Space Station. Credit: NASA
On April 12, 1961, cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin of the former Soviet Union became the first person to travel in space. He made one orbit, or trip around the Earth. Twenty-three days later, on May 5, Alan B. Shepherd, Jr., became the first U.S. space traveler, but he did not go into orbit. John H. Glenn, Jr., was the first American to go into orbit. He circled the Earth three times on Feb. 20, 1962. Since then, about 250 astronauts and more than 100 cosmonauts have flown in space.
Glenn flew again in space in October 1998, when he was 77 years old.
How to cite this article: To cite this article, World Book recommends the following format: "Astronaut." The World Book Student Discovery Encyclopedia. Chicago: World Book, Inc., 2005.
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