Comments on: Wanna work in space?

By: Dragonchild

Dragonchild — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 18:33:35 +0000

Yeesh, about five years too late. I’d have even volunteered for a one-way mission in my late 20′s, but now that I’m married this career would basically be abandoning my wife.

By: SkyGazer

SkyGazer — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 15:56:37 +0000

“The selection process bypasses merit, skills and experience in favour of who your parents are. ”
You mean your parents had to be part of the Apollo Hoax Landings?

By: Nigel Depledge

Nigel Depledge — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 11:51:09 +0000

Arthur Taylor (7) said:

It doesn’t help that every time I see a NASA spacesuit now, I think, “You bastard, you killed the Doctor!”

Wait ’til you see the dénoument (screened in the UK on Saturday on BBC1)!!

By: Sion

Sion — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 09:01:13 +0000

The selection process bypasses merit, skills and experience in favour of who your parents are. Non-US applicants need not bother.

By: Gary Ansorge

Gary Ansorge — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 05:21:39 +0000

30. Brandon

“If only they accepted English majors.”

No problem. We’ll need you in space,,,just as soon as we meet English speaking aliens(you could teach them to speak American),,,or we have kids being born in space(they’ll need teachers),,,er, maybe you should augment your skills with some Mandarin.

Gary 7

By: SkyGazer

SkyGazer — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 20:50:19 +0000

Some apropiate music for in space:
neatorama.com/2011/09/29/the-imperial-march-by-two-floppy-disk-drives/

By: Saturday roundup: Goodbye Tevatron, Mercury surprises, 100-Year Starship Symposium | interstellar immigrant

Sat, 01 Oct 2011 18:19:51 +0000

[...] Universe Today has the latest on SpaceX’s plans, including the next launch of Dragon and Elon Musk’s plans for Mars, straight from the horse’s mouth. Also on Universe Today, a report on the launch of China’s first orbital lab, Tiangong 1. And over at Bad Astronomy, Phil Plait tells you why you ought to consider signing up with the Space Patrol applying to NASA’s astronaut program. [...]

By: Strahlungsamt

Strahlungsamt — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 16:13:36 +0000

No problem! You won’t be leaving the soundstage at Area 51 anyway.

By: Chief

Chief — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 13:25:50 +0000

Alas, I turn 50 tomorrow (sun) and I have long since realized that I’ve been born too soon to be where I should be. Working on a colony in the L5 region. Sigh.

I know that the human race can do great things but the current politics of the US and world are not as forward thinking as they should be. So, I’m not holding my breath on anything exciting for 2030 in terms of human exploration of other worlds.

Maybe I can use the coming singularity and journey to other worlds via neural networking with the next generation probes on those worlds.

But for now I’ll dive into my new telescope setup and explore the heavens with the hope of seeing something wonderful.

“My God, It’s full of stars…”

By: Brandon

Brandon — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 12:54:05 +0000

If only they accepted English majors.

By: flip

flip — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 12:41:38 +0000

Thanks Matt (#26). That’s exactly who I was thinking of!

By: Matt McIrvin

Matt McIrvin — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 11:13:50 +0000

Come to think of it, it’s actually kind of surprising how old Glenn was when he made his first flight–he was over 40. I guess they wanted a seasoned pilot, which he certainly was.

By: VinceRN

VinceRN — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 03:57:05 +0000

Just have to convince them that they need a nurse in his late forties.

By: Matt McIrvin

Matt McIrvin — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 03:11:01 +0000

flip: You’re probably thinking of John Glenn, the first American in orbit. That flight in a Mercury capsule in 1962 was his only one until 1998, when (as a sitting United States Senator) he flew on the shuttle Discovery at the age of 77.

By: Ganzy

Ganzy — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 03:05:12 +0000

I’ll do it.

By: NAW

NAW — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 02:49:45 +0000

@ Laurence.

The best place to check is http://www.usajobs.gov that is where something like that would be. If you have the education and/or experience you are golden.

By: vince charles

vince charles — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 02:20:23 +0000

10. Steve Said:
September 30th, 2011 at 4:29 pm

“I’d like to believe, but …”

Phil warned us about you. The National Research Council, when asked to evaluate the country’s Astronaut pool recently, concluded that there were too FEW for the anticipated future, not too many:

http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13227
http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story_channel.jsp?channel=AviationWeek.com&id=news/awx/2011/09/07/awx_09_07_2011_p0-366492.xml&headline=NRC:%20Shrinking%20Astronaut%20Corps%20Problematic

By: Laurence

Laurence — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 01:26:16 +0000

Mr Plait:

I am a journeyman machinist, and I am starting my own business.

Do you have any connections with offering my skills to companies that may require manufacturing?

Nothing would make me happier than being able to say, “That rocket, I helped make it!”

By: Robin Byron

Robin Byron — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 01:04:50 +0000

Happy Birthday, Phil. Hope you’re having a great day.

BTW, what’s it like to be 47? I’ve forgotten.

By: the bug guy

the bug guy — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 00:42:16 +0000

My generation dreamed of being astronauts.

It’s time that I honestly applied. If nothing else, I won’t be left to wonder, “What if?”

By: Thomas Siefert

Thomas Siefert — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 00:38:12 +0000

Pizza delivery? What about burger flipper? Some of them go to hamburger university you know.

By: Grand Lunar

Grand Lunar — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 00:34:16 +0000

If someone decides to do “Mars to Stay”, and they’re not picky on who they want to go, then I’m game for that.

Of course, I’d also love a ride on Atlas 5. Yeah, you can keep SLS.

And at 31, I think I’m at the right age.
Just not the right field of study.

By: t-storm

t-storm — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 00:31:03 +0000

I’d assumed he was younger.

By: Crux Australis

Crux Australis — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 00:28:19 +0000

Hmmm…Neil Armstrong was just 2 years older than I when he landed on the Moon. Time to give teaching the flick? Maybe when New Zealand develops a spaceport…

By: flip

flip — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 00:23:42 +0000

#10 Trebuchet, and #4 Kurt

I remember during the Shuttle mission (the last) they played a lot of “look back at Shuttle history” footage. I can’t remember who it was, but one of the astronauts who flew on the Shuttle twice was a senior citizen: the aim for him was to go up and see what differences age makes on space flight experiences. Sure someone here will know who I’m referring to and could provide more info.

PS. Happy birthday Phil!