European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 30, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse Or. Mae Jemison the first Black woman astronaut tries out the commander s seat in the shuttle Trainer. Right stuff. Astronauts still have it but it s different today by Marcia Dunn a aerospace writer it used to be astronauts were chosen for the right stuff Independent Tough test pilots who could surmount the unknown hurdles on the Way to the Moon. With the first seven Mercury astronauts that boiled Down to a stereotype White Small town male. All that has changed. Now astronaut judge Duane Ross presides Over files of candidates 1,971 of them filed alphabetically in cabinets in a Small converted warehouse. They represent the Young and the old men and women Engineer and space Novice scientist and space Buff All of whom share one thing a they want to be astronauts. Early next year 12 to 19 of them will be. Explanations always vary about what it takes to enter this esteemed Circle. These 21st Century explorers whose hobbies include classical flute dance Bridge needlework baking and literary criticism still have the right stuff to be sure definition has changed. Quot in the Mercury program the Job was to get there and get Back in one piece Quot says Ross manager of Nasa s astronaut selection office at the Johnson space Center in Houston. Quot the thing you were asking these people to come and do was really scary business. You had to have the right kind of person to Deal with that kind of thing. A there is still some of that risk taking involved just because of the nature of the program. So from the standpoint of courage what it takes i guess there a still some of that stuff involved. But it s certainly More research and scientific and engineering in orientation now than it was in the Nasa s senior spaceman John Young says today s astronauts Are better educated As they should be. Young a former Navy test Pilot and Moon Walker was in the second group of astronauts chosen in 1962, following the seven famed men of Mercury by three years he is at ago 61. Still an astronaut and still enthralled with space. Quot shoot when we were picked i did t know How to spell astronaut because i did t know what the thing was Quot Young says. Quot some of these candidates have wanted to be an astronaut Ever since they were born almost. They be pointed their careers toward becoming an astronaut. Quot it s changed a lot but i think the motivation is pretty much the Alan b. Shepard jr., America s first space traveler is 67 now and a millionaire businessman in Houston. A fall of us were there because we believed in what we were doing Quot Shepard says. Quot today astronauts still believe in what they re doing. It s a very personal Challenge Quot astronaut group 13 reflects Nasa s Learned look. Eight of the 23 candidates selected in 1990 have doctorates another two have medical degrees. All but two have at least a master s degree they All got their Silver astronaut wings july 29 after completing the required year of training at the Johnson space Center. Their induction brought to 195 the number of americans accepted Over the decades into this elite group but still America s astronauts ate overwhelmingly male White and aviator skilled 01 the current 97 astronauts a a seventeen Are women including tour of the six who broke the sex Barrier in 1978 astronaut Jan Davis considers it a Good representation Given the fact that fewer women than men have the necessary backgrounds Quot we re All there because of our qualifications. We re not there As Token women. That is More important than looking at the numbers Quot says Davis 37, who has a doctorate in mechanical engineering. A five Are Black. One of them a physician Mae Jemison a is a woman. She says there Are plenty of qualified Blacks but Many simply do not apply. Quot we have to make sure minorities and women know they Are Welcome in the astronaut program they Are Welcome in space exploration and they Are Welcome in science Quot says Jemison 34, who joined Nasa in 1987. A three Are hispanic a one is Oriental. A fifty six Are military including air Force maj. Eileen Collins who last year became the first woman to be named a shuttle Pilot candidate barring injury she will become the first female shuttle commander. The remaining 41 Are civilian engineers physicians physicists chemists astronomers and geologists. Jemison expects a Boom in the number of astronaut scientists a and thus a Boom in women and minorities a As Nasa gets closer to building a space station and sending Crews to the Moon and Mars. Quot it s a necessity Quot Jemison says. Unlike some of their predecessors today s astronauts see themselves As Ordinary Folk they Range in age from 31 to 62 the average age is just under 41. Most Are married with children. A few Are married to each other. Davis and husband Mark Lee will become the first married couple to Fly in space next year Quot it probably helps since we understand each other s the people we select for the program communicate Well. They re very open and Friendly you know Nice to have around. The kind of person you a want to go off into space with Page 14 a the stars and stripes monday a Duane Ross manager of the astronaut selection office reads Over a candidates file in Houston. On Board the Cruiser Lake Champlain in 1961, Alan Shepard looks into the capsule in which he became americans first Man in space. Schedules and demands. Other than that it s really no tag Deal Quot Davis says. Astronaut m. Rhea Seddon sees Davis and Leeds flight As a natural step in normalizing space travel. Seddon is married to spaceman Robert Quot Hoot Quot Gibson. They live in the Houston area As do All astronauts and have two sons. We re not like the right stuff Guys who were really different Quot says Seddon 43, a physician and one of the first six women astronauts. Astronauts no longer must endure the grueling physical tests that were required of the Mercury men who were chosen for their stamina size skill. Nonetheless qualifications Are stringent. Applicants must be . Citizens with at least a Bachelor s degree in engineering biological or physical science or math followed by at least three years of related work experience or 1,000 hours of Jet flying time they must be no Shorter than 4-feet-10 /2, no taller f an 6-feet-4, have uncorrected eyesight of at least 20-e. For pilots and 20-150 for Mission specialists. Correctable to 20-20 the starting salary is about $45,000 a year top scale a 30 000. Ost about anybody can apply to be an astronaut a just about anybody does recent applicants have included a professional football player a television news celebrity and a half dozen or so prison inmates the football player had the right degree a. Engineering a but lacked experience As an Engineer the news celebrity had the wrong degree. The prisoners had Well prison records. Some applicants cite space travel experience Ross identifies them As Quot the people who can Stop the Earth from i rating through telekinesis the people who have already been to the there were 2,235 applicants for the class of 92 by the july 1 cutoff Date far less than the record 8,079 for the class of 78. A Ross and 19 others a mostly senior astronauts a spent july and August paring the qualified group of 1,971 Down to about 300 Quot highly qualified Quot contenders of these about 100 will be brought in for interviews starting in december. Recommendations will be made. Background checks will be run and in february or March 12 to 19 will be approved. At least a third of them will be Pilot candidates. The rest will be Mission specialists a position created for scientists and other experts in 1978 As Nasa was gearing up for the first shuttle flight. Ross knows it will be a Tough decision it always is Quot How can you go wrong you can pick 20 people or you could just discard those and pick the next 20 people and do quite Well Quot Ross says so Whai does it come Down to Ross says teamwork and extracurricular activities count. Quot it can be coaching kids in Little league it can be Community work Quot he says. Quot we look for people who have a Good Broad background but also people who Are it also helps to have Pizzazz Quot the people we select for the program communicate Well Quot Ross says. Quot they re very open and Friendly you know Nice to have around. The kind of person you d want to go off into space with Quot persistence sometimes pays off William Readdy 39, an Engineer and former naval test Pilot applied to the astronaut office three times before being selected in 1987. So did Davis both will make their first space flight next year Ross makes sure finalists know Quot the Glamour part of it the ride is Only a very very tiny percentage of the total time you spend Here Quot Quot when you walk in the door you re at least 3, 3vi years away from being on Board a launch Quot he says Readdy has t minded the wait Quot it s probably the greatest adventure and one of the most satisfying jobs you can imagine Quot Readdy says i m still probably Black and Blue from pinching myself Quot shuttle Pilot sex Barrier broken by Marcia Dunn a aerospace writer i r t aim r wan 11 d i of r to he in Nive aut. It i Fei Mother told Hei to he whine i me wanted to he 1 keen Collins listened to her Mother she became the air f Oise s second Lemale test Pilot and recently conquered Anol hoi male bastion a Pace shuttle piloting Collins. The lust and Only woman selected by Nasa us a shuttle Pilot that makes Hei the lust woman with the Oppio Tummy it All goes Well to command a shuttle Mission being Tust. She says is not what s important Quot for me the important thing is we in going to have a second and a thud and their Aie going to be More women and it s not going to be a lug Deal any More Quot she says Quot it s not going to be different it s just going to he fucking the Best person Foi the Job Quot the 34-year-old air Force Niu or just completed her one year of astronaut timing and is waiting to be assigned to her Tust space Light being the Only woman among 4 t shuttle pilots does t faze Collins the 16 other astronauts Are Mission specialists a of that precludes piloting tasks Quot i be been in the an Force 13 years and i m used to being the Only woman in the Squadron Quot she says Quot i appreciate the fact that i m not singled out Quot Collins was drawn to space while growing up in Elmira n y. Even though All the astronauts the been in the air Force 13 years and in a used to being the Only woman in the Squadron then were men she figured women would travel in space one Day too she majored in math in College and joined the air Force Roth she started taking Hying classes at age 19 and paid for them by working Odd Job sin a pizza parlor Catalon showroom Church Hospital Quot i wanted to go flying which to me was the greatest thing Quot she says she served As a t-38 instructor Pilot then As a c-141 aircraft commander and instructor Pilot. She taught math and was a t-41 instructor Pilot at the air Force Academy in Colorado Springs col ofor three years before entering the air Force test Pilot school at Edwards fab Calif. She was selected As an astronaut by Nasa in 1990 and graduated from test Pilot school that same year. Collins who is married to a commercial airline Pilot expects to be joined by other female shuttle pilots As More women become lest pilots the air Force recently accepted its third female test Pilot five women have graduated As test pilots from the naval test Pilot school at a Tuxen River naval air station in Maryland and two More am enrolled Collins is confident there will be plenty of Fust. A and seconds and thirds a to go around Quot we Haven t had a woman on the Moon yet she says Quot or on Mars Ember 30, 1991 the stars and stripes Page 15
