Astronaut's training

     Have you ever wonder how is an astronaut became an astronaut? If you do then I might be able to answer that question for you. I am not really going to tell you about how is a person become an astronaut, but it is going to be more like how can astronaut get their trainings and what is the training going to be like.

     According to NASA, there are many stages for training that an astronaut has to go through. It usually take about two years to complete the process. In the earlier stage, applicants have to satisfy couple requirements before that can continue on with the process. Some of the requirements are "candidates are required to complete military water survival before beginning their flying syllabus, and become SCUBA qualified to prepare them for spacewalk training. Consequently, all Astronaut Candidates are required to pass a swimming test during their first month of training. They must swim 3 lengths of a 25- meter pool without stopping, and then swim 3 lengths of the pool in a flight suit and tennis shoes with no time limit. They must also tread water continuously for 10 minutes wearing a flight suit..."NASA. Those are just a few that a well trained astronaut has to go through. 

     Now lets talk about some fun stuff, when I think of an astronaut I would imagine like a driver or a pilot but instead of driving a car or flying an airplane, an astronaut would control a spacecraft. So like a driver or a pilot, prior training is required before they get to move on. A test version of a spacecraft would be really help for astronauts that are in training. There is a test version of the Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) Dragon capsule, that is use to carry humans to International Space Station or other low Earth orbit destinations. According to "Astronauts check out Dragon Spacecraft Accommodation" article from NASA, "SpaceX's spacecraft currently is contracted to fly 12 cargo-only missions to the space station under NASA's Commercial Resupply Services Contract. In 2010, Dragon became the first commercially developed spacecraft to return from Earth orbit during a demonstration flight for the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) Program." The SpaceX Dragon can also transport humans. 

     "There are very important systems that need to be in place before you can put humans in a spacecraft," said Jon Cowart, NASA's partner manager for SpaceX. 

http://www.nasa.gov/centers/johnson/pdf/606877main_FS-2011-11-057-JSC-astro_trng.pdf

http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/commercial/crew/dragon_accomm.html