For other uses see Astronaut (disambiguation). Astronaut Bruce McCandless II using a Manned Maneuvering Unit outside the United States Space Shuttle Challenger in 1984.

An astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to command pilot or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft. While generally reserved for professional space travelers the term is sometimes applied to anyone who travels into space including scientists politicians journalists and tourists.12

Until 2002 astronauts were sponsored and trained exclusively by governments either by the military or by civilian space agencies. With the sub-orbital flight of the privately-funded SpaceShipOne in 2004 a new category of astronaut was created: the commercial astronaut. Contents 1 Definition 2 Terminology 2.1 English 2.2 Russian 2.3 Chinese 2.4 Other terms 3 Space travel milestones 3.1 Age milestones 3.2 Duration and distance milestones 3.3 Civilian and non-government milestones 3.4 Self-funded travelers 4 Training 4.1 NASA candidacy requirements 4.1.1 Commander and Pilot 4.1.2 Mission Specialist 4.1.3 Mission Specialist Educator 5 Health risks of space travel 6 Insignia 7 Deaths 8 See also 9 References 10 External links Definition Countries whose citizens have flown in space.

The criteria for what constitutes human spaceflight vary. The Fdration Aronautique Internationale (FAI) Sporting Code for astronautics recognizes only flights that exceed an altitude of 100 kilometers (62 mi).3 In the United States professional military and commercial astronauts who travel above an altitude of 50 miles (80 km)4 are awarded astronaut wings.

As of September 19 2009 a total of 505 people from 38 countries5 have reached 100 km (62 mi) or more in altitude of which 502 reached Low Earth orbit or beyond.67 Of these 24 people have traveled beyond Low Earth orbit to either lunar or trans-lunar orbit or to the surface of the moon; three of the 24 did so twice: Jim Lovell John Young and Eugene Cernan.8

Under the U. S. definition 496 people qualify as having reached space above 50 miles (80 km) altitude. Of eight X-15 pilots who exceeded 50 miles (80 km) in altitude seven reached above 50 miles (80 km) but below 100 kilometers (about 62 miles).9 Space travelers have spent over 30400 person-days (or a cumulative total of over 83 years) in space including over 100 astronaut-days of spacewalks.910 As of 2008 the man with the longest cumulative time in space is Sergei K. Krikalev who has spent 803 days 9 hours and 39 minutes or 2.2 years in space.1112 Peggy A. Whitson holds the record for the most time in space by a woman 377 days.13 Terminology See also: Astronaut ranks and positions Sally Ride on Challenger's mid-deck during STS-7. Valentina Tereshkova 1963 first woman in space. English

In the United States Canada United Kingdom and many other English-speaking nations a professional space traveler is called an astronaut.14 The term derives from the Greek words stron () meaning "star" and nautes () meaning "sailor". The first known use of the term "astronaut" in the modern sense was by Neil R. Jones in his short story "The Death's Head Meteor" in 1930. The word itself had been known earlier. For example in Percy Greg's 1880 book Across the Zodiac "astronaut" referred to a spacecraft. In Les Navigateurs de l'Infini (1925) of J.-H. Rosny an the word astronautique (astronautic) was used. The word may have been inspired by "aeronaut" an older term for an air traveler first applied (in 1784) to balloonists.

The first known formal use of the term astronautics in the scientific community was the establishment of the annual International Astronautical Congress in 1950 and the subsequent founding of the International Astronautical Federation the following year.15

NASA applies the term astronaut to any crew member aboard NASA spacecraft bound for Earth orbit or beyond. NASA also uses the term as a title for those selected to join its Astronaut Corps.16 The European Space Agency similarly uses the term astronaut for members of its Astronaut Corps.17 Russian Main article: Soviet space program

By convention an astronaut employed by the Russian Federal Space Agency (or its Soviet predecessor) is called a cosmonaut in English texts.16 The word is an anglicisation of the Russian word kosmonavt (Russian: Russian pronunciation: ksmnaft) one who works in space outside the Earths atmosphere a space traveller18 which derives from the Greek words kosmos () meaning "universe" and nautes () meaning "sailor". The Soviet Air Force pilot Yuri Gagarin was the first cosmonaut. A Russian factory worker Valentina Tereshkova was the first woman cosmonaut as well as arguably the first civilian cosmonaut (see below for a further discussion of civilians in space). On March 14 1995 Norman Thagard became the first American to ride to space on board a Russian launch vehicle arguably becoming the first "American cosmonaut". Chinese Main article: Chinese space program Official English-language texts issued by the government of the People's Republic of China use astronaut while texts in Russian use (kosmonavt).1920 In China the terms "yhngyun" ( "sailing personnel in universe") or "hngtinyun" ( "sailing personnel in sky") have long been used for astronauts. The phrase "tikng rn" ( "spaceman") is often used in Taiwan and Hong Kong. The term taikonaut is used by some English-language news media organizations for professional space travelers from China.21 The word has featured in the Longman and Oxford English dictionaries the latter of which describes it as "a hybrid of the Chinese term taikong (space) and the Greek naut (sailor)"; the term became more common in 2003 when China sent its first astronaut Yang Liwei into space aboard the Shenzhou 5 spacecraft.22 This is the term used by Xinhua in the English version of the Chinese People's Daily since the advent of the Chinese space program.23 The origin of the term is unclear; as early as May 1998 Chiew Lee Yih () from Malaysia used it in newsgroups.242526 Other terms With the rise of space tourism NASA and the Russian Federal Space Agency agreed to use the term "spaceflight participant" to distinguish those space travelers from professional astronauts on missions coordinated by those two agencies. While no nation other than Russia (formerly the Soviet Union) the United States and China has launched a manned spacecraft several other nations have sent people into space in cooperation with one of these countries. Inspired partly by these missions other synonyms for astronaut have entered occasional English usage. For example the term spationaut (French spelling: spationaute) is sometimes used to describe French space travelers from the Latin word spatium or "space" and the Malay term angkasawan was used to describe participants in the Angkasawan program. In Hungary the word describing astronauts is rhajs (from r meaning "space" and hajs meaning "sailor".) Space travel milestones Yuri Gagarin first human in space (1961) See also: Spaceflight records and Timeline of space travel by nationality The first human in space was Russian Yuri Gagarin who was launched into space on April 12 1961 aboard Vostok 1 and orbited around the Earth for 108 minutes. There are allegations that Gagarin ejected from landing module after re-entering the atmosphere and parachuted back due to safety concerns about the craft's landing systems.27 The first woman in space was Russian Valentina Tereshkova who launched on June 16 1963 aboard Vostok 6 and orbited Earth for almost three days. Alan Shepard became the first American and second person in space on May 5 1961 on a 15-minute sub-orbital flight. The first American woman in space was Sally Ride during Space Shuttle Challenger's mission STS-7 on June 18 1983.28 In 1992 Mae Jemison became the first African American woman to travel in space aboard STS-47. The first manned mission to orbit the moon Apollo 8 included American William Anders who was born in Hong Kong making him the first Asian-born astronaut in 1968. In April 1985 Taylor Wang became the first ethnic Chinese person in space.2930 On 15 October 2003 Yang Liwei became China's first astronaut on the Shenzhou 5 spacecraft. The Soviet Union through its Intercosmos program allowed people from other "socialist" (i.e. Warsaw Pact and other Soviet-allied) countries to fly on its missions. An example is Vladimr Remek a Czechoslovak who became the first non-Soviet European in space in 1978 on a Russian Soyuz-U rocket.31 On July 23 1980 Pham Tuan of Vietnam became the first Asian in space when he flew aboard Soyuz 37.32 Neil Armstrong first person to walk on the moon (1969). Saudi Arabian Prince Sultan Bin Salman Bin AbdulAziz Al-Saud the first Arab Muslim in space (1985). Abdul Ahad Momand The first Afghan in space(1988). Israeli Ilan Ramon Also in 1980 Cuban Arnaldo Tamayo Mndez became the first person of Hispanic and black African descent to fly in space Guion Bluford became the first African American to fly into space. The first person born in Africa to fly in space was Patrick Baudry in 1985.3334 In 1985 Saudi Arabian Prince Sultan Bin Salman Bin AbdulAziz Al-Saud became the first Arab Muslim astronaut in space.35 In 1988 Abdul Ahad Mohmand became the first Afghan to reach space spending nine days aboard the Mir space station.36 With the larger number of seats available on the Space Shuttle the U.S. began taking international astronauts. In 1983 Ulf Merbold of West Germany became the first non-US citizen to fly in a US spacecraft. In 1984 Marc Garneau became the first of 8 Canadian astronauts to fly in space (through 2010).37 In 1985 Rodolfo Neri Vela became the first Mexican-born person in space.38 In 1991 Helen Sharman became the first Briton to fly in space.39 In 2002 Mark Shuttleworth became the first citizen of an African country to fly in space as a paying spaceflight participant.40 In 2003 Ilan Ramon became the first Israeli to fly in space although he died during a re-entry accident. Age milestones The youngest person to fly in space is Gherman Titov who was 25 years old when he flew Vostok 2. (Titov was also the first person to suffer space sickness).4142 The oldest person who has flown in space is John Glenn who was 77 when he flew on STS-95.43 Duration and distance milestones The longest stay in space was 438 days by Russian Valeri Polyakov.9 As of 2006 the most spaceflights by an individual astronaut is seven a record held by both Jerry L. Ross and Franklin Chang-Diaz. The farthest distance from Earth an astronaut has traveled was 401056 km (249205 mi) when Jim Lovell Jack Swigert and Fred Haise went around the Moon during the Apollo 13 emergency.9 Civilian and non-government milestones Depending on the exact definition of 'civilian' the first civilian in space was either Valentina Tereshkova44 aboard Vostok 6 (she also became the first woman in space on that mission) or Joseph Albert Walker4546 on X-15 Flight 90 a month later. Tereshkova was only honorarily inducted into the USSR's Air Force which had no female pilots whatsoever at that time. Joe Walker had joined the US Army Air Force but was not a member during his flight. The first people in space who had never been a member of any country's armed forces were both Konstantin Feoktistov and Boris Yegorov aboard Voskhod 1. The first non-governmental space traveler was Byron K. Lichtenberg a researcher from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who flew on STS-9 in 1983.47 In December 1990 Toyohiro Akiyama became the first paying space traveler as a reporter for Tokyo Broadcasting System a visit to Mir as part of an estimated $12 million (USD) deal with a Japanese TV station although at the time the term used to refer to Akiyama was "Research Cosmonaut".484950 Akiyama suffered severe space-sickness during his mission which affected his productivity.49 The first self-funded space tourist was Dennis Tito on board the Russian spacecraft Soyuz TM-3 on 28 April 2001. Self-funded travelers Main article: Space tourism The first person to fly on an entirely privately-funded mission was Mike Melvill piloting SpaceShipOne flight 15P on a sub-orbital journey although he was a test pilot employed by Scaled Composites and not an actual paying space tourist.5152 Seven others have paid to fly into space: Dennis Tito (American): April 28 May 6 2001 (ISS) Mark Shuttleworth (South African): April 25 May 5 2002 (ISS) Gregory Olsen (American): October 111 2005 (ISS) Anousheh Ansari (Iranian / American): September 1829 2006 (ISS) Charles Simonyi (Hungarian / American): April 721 2007 (ISS) March 26 April 8 2009 (ISS) Richard Garriott (American): October 1224 2008 (ISS) Guy Lalibert (Canadian): September 30 2009 October 11 2009 (ISS) Training See also: Astronaut ranks and positions The first NASA astronauts were selected for training in 1959.53 Early in the space program military jet test piloting and engineering training were often cited as prerequisites for selection as an astronaut at NASA although neither John Glenn nor Scott Carpenter (of the Mercury Seven) had any university degree in engineering or any other discipline at the time of their selection. Selection was initially limited to military pilots.5455 The earliest astronauts for both America and Russia tended to be jet fighter pilots and were often test pilots. Once selected NASA astronauts go through 20 months of training in a variety of areas including training for extra-vehicular activity in a facility such as NASA's Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory.154 Astronauts-in-training may also experience short periods of weightlessness in aircraft called the "vomit comet" the nickname given to a pair of modified KC-135s (retired in 2000 and 2004 respectively and replaced in 2005 with a C-9) which perform parabolic flights.53 Astronauts are also required to accumulate a number of flight hours in high-performance jet aircraft. This is mostly done in T-38 jet aircraft out of Ellington Field due to its proximity to the Johnson Space Center. Ellington Field is also where the Shuttle Training Aircraft is maintained and developed although most flights of the aircraft are done out of Edwards Air Force Base. NASA candidacy requirements Be citizens of the United States.5356 Pass a strict physical examination and have a near and distant visual acuity correctable to 20/20 (6/6). Blood pressure while sitting must be no greater than 140 over 90. Commander and Pilot A bachelor's degree in engineering biological science physical science or mathematics is required although service in the United States Air Force can exempt this. At least 1000 hours flying time as pilot-in-command in jet aircraft. Experience as a test pilot is desirable. Height must be 5 ft 4 in to 6 ft 2 in (1.63 to 1.88 m). Distant visual acuity must be correctable to 20/20 in each eye. The refractive surgical procedures of the eye PRK (Photorefractive keratectomy) and LASIK are now allowed providing at least 1 year has passed since the date of the procedure with no permanent adverse after effects. For those applicants under final consideration an operative report on the surgical procedure will be requested. Mission Specialist A bachelor's degree in engineering biological science physical science or mathematics as well as at least three years of related professional experience (graduate work or studies) and an advanced degree (master's degree 1 year or a doctoral degree 3 years) Applicant's height must be 5 ft 2 in to 6 ft 4 in (1.57 to 1.93 m). Mission Specialist Educator Mission Specialist Educators Lindenberger Arnold and Acaba during a parabolic flight. Main article: Educator Astronaut Project Bachelor's degree with teaching experience including work at the kindergarten through 12th grade level. Advanced degree not required but is desired.57 Mission Specialist Educators or "Educator Astronauts" were first selected in 2004 and as of 2007 there are three NASA Educator astronauts: Joseph M. Acaba Richard R. Arnold and Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger.5859 Barbara Morgan selected as back-up teacher to Christa McAuliffe in 1985 is considered to be the first Educator astronaut by the media but she trained as a mission specialist.60 The Educator Astronaut program is a successor to the Teacher in Space program from the 1980s.6162 Health risks of space travel See also: Space medicine Astronauts are susceptible to a variety of health risks including decompression sickness barotrauma immunodeficiencies loss of bone and muscle orthostatic intolerance due to volume loss sleep disturbances and radiation injury. A variety of large scale medical studies are being conducted in space via the National Space and Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI) to address these issues. Prominent among these is the Advanced Diagnostic Ultrasound in Microgravity Study in which astronauts (including former ISS commanders Leroy Chiao and Gennady Padalka) perform ultrasound scans under the guidance of remote experts to diagnose and potentially treat hundreds of medical conditions in space. This study's techniques are now being applied to cover professional and Olympic sports injuries as well as ultrasound performed by non-expert operators in medical and high school students. It is anticipated that remote guided ultrasound will have application on Earth in emergency and rural care situations where access to a trained physician is often rare.636465 Insignia In Russia cosmonauts are awarded Pilot-Cosmonaut of the Russian Federation upon completion of their missions often accompanied with the award of Hero of the Russian Federation. This follows the practice established in the Soviet Union. At NASA those who complete astronaut candidate training receive a silver lapel pin. Once they have flown in space they receive a gold pin. U.S. astronauts who also have active-duty military status receive a special qualification badge known as the Astronaut Badge after participation on a spaceflight. The United States Air Force also presents an Astronaut Badge to its pilots who exceed 50 miles (80 km) in altitude. Space Mirror Memorial Deaths Main article: List of spaceflight-related accidents and incidents Eighteen astronauts have lost their lives during four spaceflight missions. By nationality they are 12 Americans four Russians (Soviet Union) one Indian and one Israeli. Eleven people have lost their lives training for spaceflight: eight Americans and three Russians. Six of these were in crashes of training jet aircraft one drowned during water recovery training and four were due to fires in pure oxygen environments. The Space Mirror Memorial which stands on the grounds of the John F. Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex commemorates the lives of the men and women who have died during spaceflight and during training in the space programs of the United States. In addition to twenty NASA career astronauts the memorial includes the names of a U.S. Air Force X-15 test pilot a U.S. Air Force officer who died while training for a then-classified military space program a civilian spaceflight participant who died in the Challenger disaster and an international astronaut who was killed in the Columbia disaster. See also Spaceflight portal Space portal Solar System portal Astronomy portal United States Astronaut Hall of Fame Commercial Astronaut List of astronauts by name List of astronauts by selection Timeline of astronauts by nationality List of cosmonauts List of human spaceflights List of space travelers by name List of space travelers by nationality List of spacewalks and moonwalks List of married couples among space travelers North American X-15 program Space food Spaceflight records Space Suits Shirley Thomas author of Men of Space series (19601968) Russian cosmonauts Cosmonautics Day Yuri's Night Boundary of Space Fallen Astronaut List of fictional astronauts Mercury 13 a group of 13 women who were tested but never flew in space J-Wear U.S. space exploration history on U.S. stamps References a b NASA (2006). "Astronaut Fact Book" (PDF). National Aeronautics and Space Administration. http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/spacenews/factsheets/pdfs/astro.pdf. 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"Educator Astronaut Program". NASA. http://wwwedu.ssc.nasa.gov/neap.asp. Retrieved October 4 2007.  http://www.nasa.gov/missionpages/station/science/experiments/ADUM.html A Pilot Study of Comprehensive Ultrasound Education at the Wayne State University School of Medicine: http://www.jultrasoundmed.org/cgi/content/abstract/27/5/745 Evaluation of Shoulder Integrity in Space: First Report of Musculoskeletal US on the International Space Station: http://radiology.rsna.org/content/234/2/319.abstract External links Look up cosmonaut spationaut astronaut or taikonaut in Wiktionary the free dictionary. Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Astronauts NASA: How to become an astronaut 101 List of International partnership organizations Encyclopedia Astronautica: Phantom cosmonauts collectSPACE: Astronaut appearances calendar spacefacts Spacefacts.de Manned astronautics: facts and figures Astronaut Candidate Brochure online v d eSpaceflight General spaceflight History (Space Race Accidents and incidents)  Astrodynamics Applications Earth observation satellites (Spy satellites weather satellites)  Space exploration  Space tourism  Satellite navigation  Space architecture  Space colonization Human spaceflight General Astronaut   Life support system Hazards Weightlessness (space adaptation syndrome)   cosmic radiation Major projects Vostok  Mercury  Voskhod  Gemini  Soyuz  Apollo  Space Shuttle  Shenzhou  Mir  ISS  Constellation Other Extra-vehicular activity Spacecraft Launch vehicle  Space Shuttle  Robotic spacecraft  Spacecraft propulsion  Rocket Destinations Sub-orbital  Orbital (Geosynchronous orbit Geocentric orbit)   Interplanetary spaceflight  Interstellar travel  Intergalactic travel Space launch Expendable and Reusable systems  Escape velocity  Direct ascent  Non-rocket spacelaunch  Spaceport  Launch pad Main agencies ESA  NASA   RKA   CNES   CNSA  JAXA Other Private spaceflight  Space weather  Lagrangian point  Space and survival