Dec. 24, 2024

Unavailable Orifices: Astronauts

Unavailable Orifices: Astronauts
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Season 1

Have you ever wondered what it takes to become an astronaut and join the ranks of legends like Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins? Grab a soda and get comfortable as we share some personal stories, starting with Bradley's dreams of being a musician and Kate's unforgettable, albeit queasy, experience shadowing a biologist. As we reminisce about childhood aspirations, we segue into the extraordinary careers of the Apollo 11 crew, highlighting their iconic contributions to space exploration and Collins' unique role in that historic mission.

Join us as we chart the fascinating paths of these pioneering astronauts, from Armstrong's daring test flights to Aldrin's journey from rejection to earning the nickname "Dr. Rendezvous." We even throw a spotlight on Collins' formative aviation experiences that set him up for his pivotal role in the moon landing. These narratives blend skill, determination, and a little bit of luck, painting a vivid picture of the human spirit that propelled these men to lunar greatness.

But wait, there's more! We break down the rigorous selection process and training astronauts undergo today, touching on new policies like allowing LASIK surgery and the grueling physical and mental demands candidates face. As we explore the competitive application process and the extensive training involved, we also share a fun tidbit about the "white elephant" idiom and our morning rituals. So tune in for an episode that’s as informative as it is entertaining, offering you a front-row seat to the awe-inspiring world of astronautics.


https://www.space.com/25786-how-to-become-an-astronaut.html

https://www.nasa.gov/humans-in-space/astronauts/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCnRPwUQ_ug

https://science.howstuffworks.com/question534.htm



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Chapters

00:10 - Astronaut Training and Apollo 11

10:36 - Astronaut Selection and Training Process

28:31 - Astronaut Selection and Training Process

41:16 - Astronaut Selection and Challenges

Transcript
WEBVTT

00:00:10.773 --> 00:00:12.856
Oh hey there, oh hey there.

00:00:12.856 --> 00:00:14.962
We are the History Poffoons.

00:00:15.183 --> 00:00:17.288
Hey, we said it right away, well done.

00:00:17.829 --> 00:00:21.327
I'm Kate and I'm Bradley, and it's too early for a beer.

00:00:22.521 --> 00:00:24.890
So we decided to go with a soda.

00:00:24.890 --> 00:00:27.045
We're not going to say which ones.

00:00:27.045 --> 00:00:28.846
It doesn't really matter, does it?

00:00:29.740 --> 00:00:30.765
I am having a Sprite.

00:00:30.920 --> 00:00:32.212
Okay, we're just saying it.

00:00:32.212 --> 00:00:37.192
And I'm having a Mountain Dew Zero, baja Blast.

00:00:39.781 --> 00:00:48.530
No, it's one o'clock in the afternoon, and we've done, we've recorded this early before, haven't we?

00:00:48.530 --> 00:00:49.654
Maybe at two o'clock?

00:00:50.119 --> 00:00:51.606
Yeah, we've recorded this early before.

00:00:51.939 --> 00:00:55.570
But neither of us are feeling the beer, so we went with soda.

00:00:55.570 --> 00:00:58.347
Let me give you a little taste test here.

00:00:58.347 --> 00:01:02.228
Oh, this one is quite refreshing.

00:01:02.740 --> 00:01:04.126
How is the bubble consistency.

00:01:04.760 --> 00:01:07.141
It's actually pretty excellent, excellent, good yeah.

00:01:07.141 --> 00:01:10.406
So I'm still recovering from my cold, so it feels really great on the throat.

00:01:10.406 --> 00:01:17.111
Sure, sure, I can taste like a nice citrusy under layer, like a lemon, lemon lime.

00:01:17.513 --> 00:01:18.381
Oh, really yeah.

00:01:18.602 --> 00:01:19.826
Yeah, I really like it.

00:01:20.000 --> 00:01:21.606
I wonder if it's natural or artificial.

00:01:23.801 --> 00:01:27.712
Well, it does say 100% natural flavors.

00:01:28.239 --> 00:01:31.049
Oh good, because that artificial stuff, that's just not good for you.

00:01:31.960 --> 00:01:35.129
Yeah, and there's no caffeine, which I just took a nap.

00:01:35.129 --> 00:01:39.245
So, yeah, I do have a coffee with me as well.

00:01:40.007 --> 00:01:44.007
Thank goodness, I believe our soda talk has gone on too long.

00:01:44.007 --> 00:01:50.391
So, we should maybe, I don't know move on.

00:01:54.141 --> 00:01:56.368
Okay, well, I've got a question for you.

00:01:56.719 --> 00:01:58.468
What question do you have for me today, Kate?

00:01:59.441 --> 00:02:06.709
What did you want to be when you grew up Elementary, middle school, high school what did you want to be?

00:02:07.441 --> 00:02:09.127
I always wanted to be a musician.

00:02:09.669 --> 00:02:09.889
Yeah.

00:02:10.060 --> 00:02:17.046
Which I believe I mentioned a couple ago, my plan B, because that was my plan.

00:02:17.087 --> 00:02:17.849
A yeah, that's right.

00:02:19.281 --> 00:02:22.985
I always wanted to be a musician, though, but I guess I didn't really think of anything else specific.

00:02:22.985 --> 00:02:23.770
I never said I want to be a doctor.

00:02:23.770 --> 00:02:25.859
I never wanted to be a musician, though, but, uh, I guess I didn't really think of anything else specific.

00:02:25.859 --> 00:02:27.323
Like I never said I want to be a doctor.

00:02:27.323 --> 00:02:29.427
You know, I never wanted to be a doctor.

00:02:30.509 --> 00:02:40.824
Uh, thank god for people not being in my care that way but um no, I just probably always wanted to be a musician and well, that didn't pan out.

00:02:40.824 --> 00:02:43.969
So I should say a professional musician.

00:02:43.969 --> 00:02:50.311
I'm technically a musician, I can play music, but if you ask a lot of people, people would say drums aren't that.

00:02:50.311 --> 00:02:52.467
So whatever.

00:02:53.219 --> 00:02:54.686
But you're like.

00:02:56.262 --> 00:02:57.086
I keep the rhythm yo.

00:02:57.419 --> 00:02:58.967
Yeah, you do, keep the beat.

00:02:59.620 --> 00:03:00.824
Lay down some sick beats.

00:03:00.824 --> 00:03:04.746
Not really, but I like playing.

00:03:04.746 --> 00:03:05.685
I need to play again.

00:03:05.825 --> 00:03:24.844
It's been a while, so I wanted to be a vet did you yeah yeah, and then I wanted to be a biologist yeah, you actually told me that once yeah there was one time we were supposed to do like some kind of like on-site shadowing, and I don't remember who I picked.

00:03:24.844 --> 00:03:32.052
He was part of like the Nebraska um biology association.

00:03:32.052 --> 00:03:34.376
Okay, I have no idea, I just made that up.

00:03:35.580 --> 00:03:37.889
Oh anyway, he worked for the parks, I believe.

00:03:37.889 --> 00:03:50.915
Okay, um, he drove me out into the wild and together we counted how many cranes we could see.

00:03:50.915 --> 00:04:02.542
Like he had to do some kind of like census with the population and all I remember thinking is I am motion sick from his driving Jeez.

00:04:02.763 --> 00:04:06.687
That's the worst, and you do get motion sick from certain driving roads.

00:04:06.768 --> 00:04:07.109
Yes.

00:04:07.550 --> 00:04:08.252
Windy, whatever.

00:04:08.252 --> 00:04:10.728
So I've I've witnessed that firsthand.

00:04:10.828 --> 00:04:13.304
Yes, so I was so motion sick.

00:04:13.364 --> 00:04:13.805
But I was.

00:04:14.747 --> 00:04:18.074
I didn't say anything, and I just pretended to count.

00:04:18.074 --> 00:04:24.052
So the census for that for the crane that year is probably not accurate, Probably a little off.

00:04:24.692 --> 00:04:25.274
That's funny.

00:04:25.274 --> 00:04:26.862
Wow, well done.

00:04:28.045 --> 00:04:44.408
But no, I don't I mean, I know how you get sometimes in cars so um, yeah, I'm not surprised at that well, there is one career that is kind of a big deal, big feat to become.

00:04:44.747 --> 00:04:45.007
Sure.

00:04:45.408 --> 00:04:46.848
And that is an astronaut.

00:04:47.290 --> 00:04:54.435
Yeah, yeah, I can imagine there's a lot that goes into becoming an astronaut and we're going to talk about that.

00:04:54.435 --> 00:04:56.596
Ooh, are we talking about someone specific?

00:04:56.596 --> 00:05:03.565
No, yes, yeah no yeah, no, no yeah.

00:05:05.343 --> 00:05:05.725
Okay, fair enough.

00:05:05.725 --> 00:05:09.057
So if you recall, recall because you're this old.

00:05:09.057 --> 00:05:09.800
No, you're not this old.

00:05:09.800 --> 00:05:14.132
You might not even be an idea in your parents brain at this point.

00:05:14.132 --> 00:05:22.529
But apollo 11, yeah, crew of three landed on the moon july 20th 1969 that was 10 years before I was born.

00:05:22.550 --> 00:05:26.401
I definitely was not a even a thought in my parents' brain.

00:05:26.541 --> 00:05:32.314
So um, I think it would be so cool to witness that on TV though.

00:05:34.021 --> 00:05:38.533
My mom and dad have told me about it, like them watching it and everything from when it happened.

00:05:38.533 --> 00:05:42.990
Yeah, I mean cause, I mean my dad would have been 27 at the time.

00:05:42.990 --> 00:05:44.593
So yeah, as a.

00:05:44.593 --> 00:05:49.750
Well, my dad would have been 27 at the time, so yeah, as uh, I mean it would have been really something to to see.

00:05:49.769 --> 00:05:52.300
Yeah, most definitely can you name the three astronauts.

00:05:56.127 --> 00:06:04.329
I think you can get two out of the three, yeah, and of course now I'm like center stage right here going uh, buzz aldrin, that that is one.

00:06:04.329 --> 00:06:14.086
Yes, and Neil Armstrong, yes, and I always forget the third, because he technically didn't go out on the moon, right, he stayed in the shuttle right.

00:06:14.759 --> 00:06:26.908
So you've got Commander Neil Armstrong Yep, lunar Module Pilot Edwin Buzz E Aldrin Jr Yep, and then Command Modular Pilot Michael Collins.

00:06:26.908 --> 00:06:28.213
That's right, yeah, michael.

00:06:28.252 --> 00:06:29.502
Collins, I always forget his name.

00:06:29.502 --> 00:06:30.286
Sorry, michael.

00:06:30.286 --> 00:06:30.786
Yeah.

00:06:31.209 --> 00:06:31.629
Poor guy.

00:06:31.629 --> 00:06:35.870
I almost wish like I wonder if he like regrets not being able to go out there.

00:06:36.699 --> 00:06:40.088
I mean you would think so because you always hear about Buzz and Neil.

00:06:40.610 --> 00:06:43.045
Yeah, but and nobody remembers poor Michael.

00:06:44.088 --> 00:06:49.084
Poor Michael, some, yeah, but uh, nobody remembers poor michael.

00:06:49.084 --> 00:06:49.927
Poor michael, some people do.

00:06:49.927 --> 00:07:00.940
I'm sure I would hope so, but yeah, I mean I don't know if he ever regretted not actually doing it, but maybe maybe he wasn't supposed to anyway, but well, yeah, because he had to stay back and monitor and man the yeah, the module.

00:07:00.940 --> 00:07:07.785
So yeah um, yeah, I wonder if he was like you can't get off here he probably looked out the window.

00:07:07.805 --> 00:07:25.538
Be like guys, guys, bring me some moon dust I'd really like some moon dust to bring home to the wife he looks like a dog with his head sticking out with his round domed helmet on okay, this got, this got weird this got a little weird.

00:07:25.920 --> 00:07:31.872
So Neil Armstrong actually had a love of flying at the age of two.

00:07:31.872 --> 00:07:38.130
Starting at the age of two, what, yeah, his father took him to the Cleveland Air Races, okay.

00:07:38.130 --> 00:07:43.045
And then, when he was five or six, he experienced his first airplane flight in Warren Ohio.

00:07:43.045 --> 00:07:44.305
Okay, he experienced his first airplane flight in Warren.

00:07:44.305 --> 00:07:51.713
Ohio, okay, and when he and his father took a ride in the Ford Ford tri-motor.

00:07:51.713 --> 00:07:54.295
So that was the flight, the plane that they wrote him.

00:07:54.516 --> 00:07:54.716
Okay.

00:07:54.980 --> 00:07:57.067
The Ford tri-motor Gotcha.

00:07:57.067 --> 00:08:08.286
They were also known as the 10 goose, but they held between like 12 to 18 to 25 passengers, depending on the type of class, so it was kind of on the smaller side.

00:08:08.701 --> 00:08:09.718
Yes, it was very small.

00:08:10.422 --> 00:08:13.651
So that was his first love of flying Sure.

00:08:13.651 --> 00:08:32.607
So I'm going to kind of tell you a little bit about how Neil Armstrong, buzz and Michael all became astronauts, okay, and then we're going to go into what kind of training they would have had to go through Sure, and then what it would look like today.

00:08:32.607 --> 00:08:35.080
Okay, okay, awesome, okay.

00:08:35.080 --> 00:08:48.503
So in 1944, while Armstrong was still in school, he actually started taking flying lessons, wow, and he got his student pilot's license at 16, before he even got his driver's license.

00:08:48.523 --> 00:08:54.957
That's crazy yeah, wow so he went on to purdue university.

00:08:54.957 --> 00:09:02.277
Oh, okay on a naval scholarship, sure, and he studied, studied, aeronautical engineering, nice, okay.

00:09:02.277 --> 00:09:15.663
So as part of this particular scholarship, applicants committed to two years of study, followed by two years of flight training okay, and one year of service as an aviator in the us navy.

00:09:15.663 --> 00:09:22.812
I was going to ask if that was something they had to do okay and then completion of the final two years of their bachelor's degree.

00:09:23.333 --> 00:09:36.399
Oh wow okay, so like they would have to go through all that and then go back together, which I guess makes sense, because you need to learn your shit, yeah, so okay so he got like on hand experience not just in the classroom?

00:09:36.399 --> 00:09:44.809
No, which is awesome, because, especially if when you're piloting something or whatever, I mean you need some actual experience, not just reading it in a book right.

00:09:45.010 --> 00:09:55.807
So so the navy called him up to be trained as a fighter pilot in florida nice and his college studies were kind of interrupted by the korean war.

00:09:55.807 --> 00:09:57.251
Oh sure, okay.

00:09:57.251 --> 00:10:06.791
So during the war, asked um, armstrong flew 78 combat combat missions, oh really, with a total of 121 hours in the air.

00:10:07.893 --> 00:10:08.514
During the war.

00:10:08.514 --> 00:10:12.791
Mm-hmm, I didn't know that he even I mean it makes sense Went into the war.

00:10:12.791 --> 00:10:14.726
Yeah, I never even heard that about them.

00:10:14.726 --> 00:10:15.428
Wow, okay.

00:10:16.561 --> 00:10:23.586
So his aircraft, the F9F Panther Jet, was one of the first jet fighters to launch from a carrier.

00:10:23.988 --> 00:10:25.812
Oh really, mm-hmm, That'd be freaky.

00:10:26.033 --> 00:10:26.273
Yeah.

00:10:26.860 --> 00:10:31.125
Like I hope this really takes off, or else I'm going into the water Nosedive, literally.

00:10:31.125 --> 00:10:33.628
Yeah, that would be bad, Literally Wow.

00:10:36.480 --> 00:10:39.087
After his service in the Navy he then went back to Purdue.

00:10:39.249 --> 00:10:39.990
Yep, because he had to.

00:10:40.019 --> 00:10:48.652
Finished his college degree, yep and Armstrong went to work for the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, naca.

00:10:48.652 --> 00:10:50.653
Oh, which is now.

00:10:50.653 --> 00:10:58.187
Nasa, yeah, nasa, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, yeah, and that was in 1958.

00:10:58.227 --> 00:10:58.328
Okay.

00:10:58.580 --> 00:11:02.010
So he worked as a test pilot for seven years oh wow, mm-hmm.

00:11:02.010 --> 00:11:06.048
And he flew over 200 different types of aircraft.

00:11:06.129 --> 00:11:16.081
Holy crap, I didn't even know there was that many I mean I guess there's a lot of variation, so I mean I wouldn't have guessed that number.

00:11:16.321 --> 00:11:27.700
No, that's, that's a lot of different aircrafts, holy crap I mean, this 10 goose has the pilot on the right side, but this 10 goose has the pilot on the right side, but this 10 goose has the pilot on the left side.

00:11:27.700 --> 00:11:33.232
Does that mean he flew two different types of 10 goose, or was it just one?

00:11:33.320 --> 00:11:34.345
See, that's a great question.

00:11:34.345 --> 00:11:39.951
I wonder, Because if it's the same makeup, it's just the inner workings are a little different.

00:11:39.951 --> 00:11:40.493
Is it different?

00:11:40.720 --> 00:11:41.865
Yeah, is it different?

00:11:41.865 --> 00:11:44.168
What is actually 200 different aircraft?

00:11:44.168 --> 00:11:46.346
That is the question, folks.

00:11:46.606 --> 00:11:50.471
Yeah, let's not find out right now.

00:11:51.519 --> 00:11:56.177
In 1962, he was chosen for NASA's astronaut training program.

00:11:56.379 --> 00:11:56.539
Okay.

00:11:57.061 --> 00:12:04.533
So, fun fact, he submitted his application for the astronaut program a week after the deadline Oops.

00:12:04.533 --> 00:12:07.904
Application for the astronaut program a week after the deadline oops.

00:12:07.904 --> 00:12:21.442
But a fight simulator who worked closely with armstrong before, saw it and put it in the pile before anyone could notice that it was actually late oh, so he almost got kind of whoops, sorry, dude, uh-huh, that's, that's awesome yeah, yeah that's nice of that guy.

00:12:21.442 --> 00:12:24.203
So that's how he became.

00:12:26.306 --> 00:12:27.125
Into the program.

00:12:27.225 --> 00:12:28.706
Yeah, that's how he got into the program.

00:12:28.706 --> 00:12:31.429
Okay, wow, so Buzz Aldrin.

00:12:31.429 --> 00:12:41.177
He chose the US Military Academy at West Point Sure, when he majored in mechanical engineering and trained to become a fighter pilot.

00:12:41.356 --> 00:12:41.657
Okay.

00:12:41.777 --> 00:12:49.466
Okay, after graduating third in his class at west point, buzz joined the air force and shipped off to korea.

00:12:49.466 --> 00:12:52.274
Oh, wow, okay so he was out there too, he was.

00:12:52.274 --> 00:13:05.557
He flew 66 combat missions, good lord, and he was in a f-86 saber jet with two confirmed kills oh, wow, yes, so again, I also didn't know he did that.

00:13:06.077 --> 00:13:08.861
And how many combat missions did neil?

00:13:09.142 --> 00:13:21.725
like 70 something you said yeah, he did 78 combat missions and buzz did 62, 66 wow so 144 all together, that's a lot, holy crap.

00:13:21.725 --> 00:13:30.434
And then, after the war, aldrin remained in the Air Force as a pilot instructor in Nevada and then as a flight commander in Germany.

00:13:30.796 --> 00:13:31.856
Oh, wow, okay yeah.

00:13:32.561 --> 00:13:38.152
So Aldrin heard about the astronaut training program and his first application was actually rejected by NASA.

00:13:38.773 --> 00:13:39.153
Oh really.

00:13:39.500 --> 00:13:42.590
As they were only accepting test pilots and not combat pilots.

00:13:43.261 --> 00:13:47.442
Oh, okay, and so that's where neil kind of had a an upper hand?

00:13:47.442 --> 00:13:51.629
Yeah, because he well, he test piloted over 200 freaking planes.

00:13:51.649 --> 00:14:00.965
Yeah, all right so um a mechanical engineer by training, he was closely following the progress towards manned space flight, sure, and knew the challenges.

00:14:00.965 --> 00:14:10.011
And one of the biggest unknowns was how to dock or connect two orbiting spacecraft racing thousands of miles per hour through space.

00:14:10.011 --> 00:14:11.416
Right so that?

00:14:11.416 --> 00:14:16.530
So that's exactly what aldrin actually decided to figure out sure that's smart yeah.

00:14:16.530 --> 00:14:22.543
So in 1963 aldrin graduated from the massachusetts institute of technology, yep.

00:14:22.543 --> 00:14:26.787
He had a PhD, jesus, in aeronautics.

00:14:27.607 --> 00:14:29.549
I really feel insignificant in this world right now.

00:14:30.831 --> 00:14:36.976
His doctoral thesis was titled Line of Sight Guidance Techniques for Manned Orbital Rendezvous.

00:14:39.200 --> 00:14:43.504
Isn't it kind of funny that it was a doctoral, because they were docking Boom boom.

00:14:43.504 --> 00:14:45.446
Sorry, that was weak, I apologize on that one.

00:14:45.586 --> 00:14:47.288
It wasn't terrible, it wasn't great.

00:14:47.288 --> 00:14:51.831
But it contained a blueprint for piloting and docking the orbital spacecraft.

00:14:51.831 --> 00:14:54.234
It was essentially what NASA was still trying to figure out.

00:14:54.234 --> 00:14:56.336
Oh, that's impressive, yeah.

00:14:56.336 --> 00:15:12.696
So the dedication of his thesis was quote In the hopes that this work may in some way contribute to their exploration of space, this is dedicated to the crew members of this country's present and future manned space programs.

00:15:12.696 --> 00:15:15.666
If only I could join them in their exciting endeavors.

00:15:15.666 --> 00:15:16.288
End quote.

00:15:16.488 --> 00:15:18.032
Wow, well done.

00:15:18.231 --> 00:15:30.298
Yeah, so Aldrin initially applied to join the Astronaut when NASA's astronaut group two was selected in 1962.

00:15:30.317 --> 00:15:30.399
Okay.

00:15:31.565 --> 00:15:33.056
And he was rejected at that point.

00:15:33.056 --> 00:15:38.938
Sure, a year later, in 1963, nasa announced another round of selections.

00:15:38.938 --> 00:15:50.202
Oh, and this time the requirement was either a test pilot experience or a thousand hours of flying time in a jet aircraft and he.

00:15:50.202 --> 00:15:57.344
He would have had that with all of his he had over 2,500 hours of flying time, and 2,200 of those were in jets.

00:15:57.563 --> 00:16:03.913
Jesus, yeah that's a lot yeah, so he was one of 14 to be accepted.

00:16:03.913 --> 00:16:04.414
That's awesome.

00:16:04.414 --> 00:16:20.712
Yeah, that same year, nasa accepted aldrin into its third class as the only astronaut with a phd buzz earned a second nickname, dr rendezvous sounds like a villain he does either a comic book or something like that.

00:16:20.893 --> 00:16:22.982
That's kind of dr rendezvous.

00:16:22.982 --> 00:16:24.486
That's awesome.

00:16:24.486 --> 00:16:26.311
I never heard that nickname for him.

00:16:26.311 --> 00:16:27.513
That's funny.

00:16:28.900 --> 00:16:31.525
So Michael Collins yes, the forgotten one.

00:16:31.525 --> 00:16:35.089
He took his first plane ride in Puerto Rico.

00:16:35.470 --> 00:16:35.610
Oh.

00:16:36.461 --> 00:16:38.527
Aboard a Grumman Wigeon.

00:16:38.527 --> 00:16:39.409
A what now?

00:16:39.409 --> 00:16:42.399
Grumman G-R-U-M-M-A-N.

00:16:42.399 --> 00:16:48.696
Grumman Wigeon Like pigeon, but Widgeon, All right.

00:16:48.696 --> 00:16:52.289
The pilot allowed him to fly for a portion of the flight.

00:16:52.289 --> 00:16:52.551
What?

00:16:53.740 --> 00:16:54.344
How old was he?

00:16:54.344 --> 00:16:55.388
Can you say?

00:16:56.701 --> 00:16:58.706
No, he was probably in his tweens.

00:16:58.706 --> 00:17:04.086
Okay, yeah, wow, hey, you want to take the stick for a little bit?

00:17:04.086 --> 00:17:09.867
Uh-huh, I think he was more like I don't know 14 somewhere in there, sure?

00:17:09.867 --> 00:17:16.464
So, uh, collins applied and was accepted to west point military academy in new york during world war ii.

00:17:16.464 --> 00:17:29.058
Okay, in 1952, collins graduated with a bachelor's of science in military science okay he joined the Air Force that same year and completed flight training in Columbus, Mississippi.

00:17:29.319 --> 00:17:29.400
Wow.

00:17:30.200 --> 00:17:41.286
His performance earned him a position on the advanced day fighter training team at Nellis Air Force Base, and that's basically a fighter plane that can only fly during the day.

00:17:41.286 --> 00:17:42.449
Oh really yeah.

00:17:42.449 --> 00:17:43.830
Okay, I didn't look into why.

00:17:43.830 --> 00:17:45.494
Okay, that's all right.

00:17:45.494 --> 00:17:47.664
Just putting that out there.

00:17:47.861 --> 00:17:48.604
Just want to let you know.

00:17:48.604 --> 00:17:49.587
That's all it is.

00:17:49.840 --> 00:17:54.808
I did look up what it meant to be a day fighter and coincidentally you can only fight during the day.

00:17:55.420 --> 00:17:58.567
So as a day fighter you can 9 to 5 job.

00:17:58.626 --> 00:18:00.270
Yeah, basically Jeez.

00:18:01.032 --> 00:18:01.353
All right.

00:18:08.220 --> 00:18:08.480
So all right.

00:18:08.480 --> 00:18:13.911
So this was followed by an assignment to the 21st fighter bomber wing at the george air force base, where he learned how to deliver nuclear weapons.

00:18:13.911 --> 00:18:14.152
Oh geez.

00:18:14.152 --> 00:18:21.219
He also served as an experimental flight test officer at edwards air force base in california, testing jet fighters.

00:18:21.219 --> 00:18:22.280
Oh, there you go.

00:18:22.280 --> 00:18:29.113
Collins made the decision to become an astronaut after watching John Glenn's Mercury Atlas 6 flight.

00:18:29.113 --> 00:18:29.934
Oh cool, yeah.

00:18:29.934 --> 00:18:34.590
So he applied for the second group of astronauts that same year, but was not accepted.

00:18:34.590 --> 00:18:41.670
Okay, and so Collins entered the USAF Aerospace Research Pilot School.

00:18:41.670 --> 00:18:45.015
As the Air Force began to like research space.

00:18:45.015 --> 00:18:45.596
Okay.

00:18:45.596 --> 00:18:50.967
That year, nasa once again called for astronaut applications, and collins was more prepared.

00:18:50.967 --> 00:18:54.740
Sure, and in 1963, same same as uh buzz.

00:18:54.901 --> 00:19:10.710
Yeah, I was gonna ask if that was the same class okay he was chosen by nasa to be a part of the third group of astronauts so he was buzz and him were two of the 14 okay by this time, collins had flown over 3 000 hours, and 27 of those were in jet aircrafts.

00:19:10.710 --> 00:19:15.321
Jesus christ, that's a lot you okay there?

00:19:15.442 --> 00:19:19.625
yeah, so you're accepted now yeah, so they're in the program so now what?

00:19:19.625 --> 00:19:21.169
What's train you?

00:19:21.769 --> 00:19:25.582
there are five objectives, oh dear okay basic training, yeah.

00:19:25.582 --> 00:19:27.125
Advanced training okay.

00:19:27.125 --> 00:19:29.855
Mission specific training sure.

00:19:29.855 --> 00:19:36.873
On board training okay and proficiency maintenance training I mean, that makes sense you are going to hear the word training a lot.

00:19:36.873 --> 00:19:40.750
Do not do a drinking game.

00:19:40.750 --> 00:19:42.978
Do not do a drinking game.

00:19:42.978 --> 00:19:43.539
Okay, okay.

00:19:43.559 --> 00:19:44.583
Okay, you will probably die.

00:19:44.583 --> 00:19:45.204
We don't want that.

00:19:45.204 --> 00:19:48.095
Yeah, we don't need Al to get alcohol poisoning.

00:19:48.286 --> 00:19:49.490
No, but Al put it down.

00:19:49.490 --> 00:19:54.451
So in basic training they learn medicine.

00:19:54.451 --> 00:20:00.430
Okay, language Robotics oh, I have a typo.

00:20:00.430 --> 00:20:10.291
It says isleting, but I think it's meant piloting, robotic piloting robotic piloting, oh dear okay space system engineering okay.

00:20:10.291 --> 00:20:13.701
The organization of space systems okay.

00:20:13.701 --> 00:20:16.688
Like did mercury come before venus or after venus?

00:20:17.088 --> 00:20:18.772
no, it's probably more in depth than that.

00:20:18.772 --> 00:20:27.090
Yeah, I'm pretty sure it is and then aerospace engineering okay in advanced training and mission-specific training.

00:20:27.131 --> 00:20:36.840
They learn about the operation of specific systems and skills required with their assigned positions in a space mission.

00:20:36.840 --> 00:20:48.439
Okay Okay, the mission-specific training and onboard training is usually around 18 months for the space shuttle and the International Space Station crews.

00:20:48.439 --> 00:20:59.659
Okay Okay, proficiency maintenance trainings helps the crew members maintain a level of performance and extravehicular activity, which is also called spacewalking.

00:20:59.979 --> 00:21:00.960
Spacewalking Okay.

00:21:01.605 --> 00:21:04.736
Robotics, language diving and flight training.

00:21:04.736 --> 00:21:06.340
Oh okay, sure, Okay, robotics language diving and flight training?

00:21:06.340 --> 00:21:07.404
Oh, okay, sure, Okay.

00:21:07.404 --> 00:21:11.036
So what other kind of trainings?

00:21:11.036 --> 00:21:13.342
I mean, there's physical trainings, right?

00:21:13.342 --> 00:21:13.724
Sure?

00:21:13.724 --> 00:21:19.979
So astronauts undergo intense physical training, including running, swimming, weightlifting.

00:21:19.979 --> 00:21:23.736
They need to maintain like a peak physical condition.

00:21:24.045 --> 00:21:27.028
I would imagine, because you got to be prepared for being out there.

00:21:27.028 --> 00:21:28.451
Yes, yeah um.

00:21:28.490 --> 00:21:36.396
They train in centrifuges to withstand the high g forces experienced during launch, and re-entry makes sense.

00:21:36.396 --> 00:21:46.638
And then they have extensive water survival training, um and including practicing escaping from aircraft in water and surviving in harsh conditions.

00:21:47.025 --> 00:21:48.628
Is that because that's where they usually land?

00:21:48.628 --> 00:21:51.836
In the space modules and all that Yep Okay.

00:21:52.345 --> 00:21:53.750
So then you've got technical training.

00:21:53.750 --> 00:22:03.578
Sure, Astronauts learn about the intricate details of the spacecraft they would be flying, including propulsion Propulsion.

00:22:03.739 --> 00:22:09.932
That's the one Systems life support systems, systems and navigation systems.

00:22:09.932 --> 00:22:17.974
Yeah, I mean I, they, I would imagine, have to know all that, because it's just going to be them out there and if something goes wrong, they have to figure it out.

00:22:18.015 --> 00:22:22.357
They're the ones you can't call a plumber I mean you, they had communication with you.

00:22:22.377 --> 00:22:27.015
Know, houston, we have a problem, all that, but uh, yeah, they're the ones doing the work.

00:22:27.015 --> 00:22:28.430
So, yeah, that totally makes sense.

00:22:28.470 --> 00:22:31.465
They are the plumber, they're the electrician, it's like.

00:22:31.486 --> 00:22:32.411
Buzz get the plunger.

00:22:34.705 --> 00:22:41.597
So they were trained in mission planning, emergency procedures and in-flight problem solving.

00:22:41.597 --> 00:22:49.792
All right, and they used advanced simulators to practice flying their spacecraft, docking maneuvers and lunar landing procedures.

00:22:49.792 --> 00:22:52.691
Okay, okay, so they use a little bit of virtual reality.

00:22:52.691 --> 00:22:56.952
Oh, yeah, so then they go on to scientific training.

00:22:57.433 --> 00:22:57.835
Oh dear.

00:22:58.566 --> 00:23:21.032
They are trained to conduct scientific experiments in space, such as collecting geological samples and studying the Earth's atmosphere Okay, they receive medical training to handle emergencies and monitor their own health during spaceflight Sure, and they undergo psychological training to manage stress and anxiety, especially during critical mission phases.

00:23:21.032 --> 00:23:27.346
Okay, they train in effective communication and teamwork, essential for mission success.

00:23:27.346 --> 00:23:39.205
And they are trained in survival techniques for various scenarios, including desert, jungle and water survival oh really, in case they run into any of those out in space, yep that's right.

00:23:39.445 --> 00:23:41.429
And there we don't know if there's a jungle out there.

00:23:41.429 --> 00:23:43.152
I mean, we don't know if there's a jungle out there.

00:23:43.492 --> 00:23:43.794
I mean.

00:23:44.654 --> 00:23:46.218
We don't know what the other side of the moon looks like.

00:23:46.218 --> 00:23:56.278
It's dark, and then some astronauts, particularly those in international missions, also receive language training.

00:23:56.278 --> 00:24:00.133
Okay, okay, so today, yeah.

00:24:00.133 --> 00:24:02.477
You must be a US citizen.

00:24:02.477 --> 00:24:03.563
Oh really Mm-hmm.

00:24:03.563 --> 00:24:08.856
Okay, you have to have a master's degree in a STEM field.

00:24:08.856 --> 00:24:10.530
Do you know what STEM means?

00:24:10.530 --> 00:24:20.577
No, it is basically science, technology, engineering or mathematics.

00:24:20.637 --> 00:24:21.378
That's what that means.

00:24:21.378 --> 00:24:22.320
Okay, sure, that makes sense.

00:24:22.484 --> 00:24:32.130
And I've never heard of STEM until my niece and nephew were kind of in the middle school, high school age, sure, and they were talking about like stem experiments and stuff.

00:24:32.130 --> 00:24:47.236
I was like I have no idea what that means and that's all it means, yeah I guess okay so they could have a master's degree in engineering, biological science, physical science, computer science or mathematics from an accredited institution.

00:24:48.438 --> 00:24:49.140
Okay.

00:24:50.547 --> 00:25:02.758
They have to have a minimum of three years of related personal nope professional experience obtained after degree completion, or a thousand hours of pilot in command.

00:25:03.298 --> 00:25:03.519
Okay.

00:25:03.785 --> 00:25:09.617
Hours, with at least 850 of those hours in high-performance jet aircraft for pilots.

00:25:09.865 --> 00:25:10.165
Wow.

00:25:10.165 --> 00:25:26.096
So basically from what I can understand, if you want to be an astronaut, you have to basically go into the military these days because most likely that's how you're going to get all your your experience in the flying Okay, yeah.

00:25:27.165 --> 00:25:34.545
So for medical doctors, time in residency can count towards experience and must be completed by June 2025.

00:25:34.545 --> 00:25:40.630
If you want to apply, Just in case, just so you know.

00:25:40.630 --> 00:25:48.136
And you have to be able to successfully complete the NASA long-duration flight astronaut physical.

00:25:48.858 --> 00:25:51.931
Okay, I would imagine that's probably pretty intense.

00:25:52.353 --> 00:26:04.920
Yes, yes, the master's degree requirement can also be met by two years of work towards a doctoral program in a related science, technology, engineering or math field.

00:26:05.240 --> 00:26:05.441
Okay.

00:26:06.665 --> 00:26:12.417
Completed doctor of medicine, osteopathic medicine or related medical degree.

00:26:12.417 --> 00:26:18.076
Completion of a nationally recognized test pilot school program.

00:26:18.237 --> 00:26:18.557
Okay.

00:26:20.365 --> 00:26:28.073
Astronaut candidates must also have skills in leadership, teamwork and communication Sure and that and communication Sure, and that's it, oh.

00:26:32.935 --> 00:26:33.484
And nothing else.

00:26:34.907 --> 00:26:38.257
That's all you need to know All right, all right, jeez, that was great.

00:26:38.257 --> 00:26:46.923
So NASA's Astronaut Selection Board reviews the applications and assesses each candidate's qualifications.

00:26:46.923 --> 00:26:47.244
Sure.

00:26:47.244 --> 00:26:55.960
The board then invites a small group of the most highly qualified candidates for interviews at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.

00:26:57.125 --> 00:27:21.108
Of those interviewed, about half are invited back for second interviews and then from that group nasa's new astronaut candidates are selected oh, okay they report for training at johnson and spend the next two years learning basic astronaut skills like spacewalking, operating the space station, flying t-38 jet planes and controlling robotic arms.

00:27:21.108 --> 00:27:22.171
Wow, two years.

00:27:22.171 --> 00:27:44.468
There is no age restriction in the program, oh really I was gonna ask that okay but astronaut candidates selected in the past have ranged between 26 and 46, sure, and the average age is being about 34 makes sense yeah, so flying experience is not necessarily a requirement okay um.

00:27:44.468 --> 00:27:50.977
The program requires either three years of professional-related experience or 1,000 hours of pilot.

00:27:50.997 --> 00:27:52.659
Yeah, that's right, you did say it Okay.

00:27:52.679 --> 00:27:53.941
Yes, gotcha.

00:27:53.941 --> 00:27:58.954
So, a minimum of 850 hours must be in high-performance jet aircraft.

00:27:58.954 --> 00:28:06.517
If you choose the 1,000 hours, yeah, the remaining hours may be accumulated in aircraft other than high-performance jet aircraft.

00:28:06.517 --> 00:28:10.773
So jet aircraft experience is usually obtained through the military.

00:28:10.913 --> 00:28:11.836
Yep, like we said.

00:28:11.876 --> 00:28:17.936
Yeah, any type of flying experience, military or private, is allowed.

00:28:18.298 --> 00:28:22.054
Okay, so just find a plane and just take off.

00:28:22.365 --> 00:28:23.190
Yeah, see what happens.

00:28:23.190 --> 00:28:26.936
We do not endorse that, by the way.

00:28:26.910 --> 00:28:27.036
No, we don't.

00:28:27.036 --> 00:28:27.534
It's just stealing a plane and just take off.

00:28:27.534 --> 00:28:27.826
Yeah, see what happens.

00:28:27.826 --> 00:28:28.511
We do not endorse that, by the way.

00:28:28.511 --> 00:28:28.612
No, we don't.

00:28:28.612 --> 00:28:29.816
It's just stealing a plane.

00:28:31.224 --> 00:28:44.730
For maximum crew safety, each crew member must be free of medical conditions that would either impair the person's ability to participate in, or be aggravated by, spaceflight, as determined by NASA physicians.

00:28:44.730 --> 00:28:45.751
Okay, okay, okay.

00:28:45.751 --> 00:28:54.935
So, as of December 2007, the refractive surgical procedures of the eye, like LASIK, are now allowed.

00:28:55.115 --> 00:28:58.837
They are Because, yeah, didn't you always have to have perfect vision, basically.

00:28:59.738 --> 00:29:08.662
And you have to have at least one year have passed since the LASIK surgery Sure With no permanent adverse side effects.

00:29:08.662 --> 00:29:11.663
So like after you get it done you have to wait a whole year Makes sense.

00:29:11.663 --> 00:29:19.036
So for those applications under final consideration, an operative report on the surgical procedure is requested.

00:29:19.036 --> 00:29:20.308
Would you ever get LASIK?

00:29:20.308 --> 00:29:35.196
100%, yeah, I think my sister-in-law got LASIK, oh really, and then her eyesight still changed for like um, up close so she's got like readers, I think okay, so not completely effective, but a lot better.

00:29:35.257 --> 00:29:36.803
Yeah, I'm not really sure how that works?

00:29:36.803 --> 00:29:37.444
Yeah, me either.

00:29:37.444 --> 00:29:38.226
Yeah, I'm.

00:29:38.226 --> 00:29:41.732
I've never looked into getting it, I just wear my glasses.

00:29:42.294 --> 00:29:43.035
Yeah I just wear my glasses.

00:29:43.035 --> 00:29:44.136
Yeah, I just wear my contacts.

00:29:44.238 --> 00:29:46.385
Yep Pretty much so.

00:29:46.405 --> 00:29:50.895
their salary is approximately $152,000 a year.

00:29:51.156 --> 00:29:51.396
Wow.

00:29:51.698 --> 00:30:03.153
Okay, this pay rate reflects the 2004 pay schedules and our own approximation Sure Astronauts are considered public service employees.

00:30:03.434 --> 00:30:03.675
Okay.

00:30:03.765 --> 00:30:04.694
No matter what nationality.

00:30:04.694 --> 00:30:05.919
Sure, in America, many astronauts are soldiers, public service employees, no matter what nationality.

00:30:05.919 --> 00:30:11.429
Sure, in America, many astronauts are soldiers, yep, and they also get soldier pay.

00:30:11.429 --> 00:30:12.894
Okay, same with Russian.

00:30:12.894 --> 00:30:16.712
But in Europe they have no taxes and already get paid a higher salary.

00:30:16.712 --> 00:30:17.695
Oh wow, mm-hmm.

00:30:18.196 --> 00:30:18.778
Go Europe.

00:30:19.625 --> 00:30:25.597
More than 8,000 people applied to be an astronaut when NASA last accepted applications this year.

00:30:25.597 --> 00:30:26.259
Oh, really.

00:30:26.259 --> 00:30:28.251
I believe their end date was April.

00:30:28.553 --> 00:30:28.732
Okay.

00:30:29.465 --> 00:30:31.594
Only 17% of applicants were women.

00:30:32.224 --> 00:30:33.892
Oh wow, that's quite low.

00:30:34.586 --> 00:30:40.545
From that pool, NASA will select between 8 and 12 people to become astronaut candidates.

00:30:40.806 --> 00:30:42.692
So 8 to 12 out of 8,000?

00:30:42.692 --> 00:30:45.559
Yes, wow astronaut candidates.

00:30:45.579 --> 00:30:46.784
So eight to 12 out of 8,000.

00:30:46.784 --> 00:30:47.065
Yes, wow.

00:30:47.065 --> 00:30:50.984
And then these candidates will go on to complete two years of training before the candidates are even eligible for a space flight Gotcha.

00:30:50.984 --> 00:30:54.573
These candidates will train for years.

00:30:54.794 --> 00:30:55.576
Yeah, no doubt.

00:30:56.345 --> 00:30:59.732
Like sometimes up into the teens.

00:30:59.732 --> 00:31:07.276
Oh really, yes, that long Jesus, because there's never any guarantee of actual flights into space.

00:31:07.297 --> 00:31:10.073
Well, right, yeah, because it all depends on what they're doing.

00:31:10.133 --> 00:31:11.207
Exactly so.

00:31:11.207 --> 00:31:12.833
Some people, they're just training.

00:31:13.045 --> 00:31:15.196
Yeah, just constantly training waiting for their moment.

00:31:15.356 --> 00:31:16.785
Yeah exactly, Isn't that crazy.

00:31:16.825 --> 00:31:18.766
Yeah, because, like you said well, it's my 12th year of training.

00:31:18.766 --> 00:31:21.008
Yeah, maybe this is the year Then my 12th year of training.

00:31:21.147 --> 00:31:21.407
Yeah.

00:31:21.607 --> 00:31:22.489
Maybe this is the year.

00:31:22.509 --> 00:31:25.411
Then there are more astronauts than there are flights offered.

00:31:25.590 --> 00:31:35.438
Correct, yeah, and I would imagine you have to qualify for those specific flights, even from the pool of astronauts right, perhaps, oh, perhaps, okay.

00:31:35.818 --> 00:31:40.922
But they all get the mission-specific training, true, yeah, that's a good point.

00:31:40.922 --> 00:31:50.190
Yeah, yep, so the current available space hold on hold please this is what I read.

00:31:50.190 --> 00:31:56.025
The current available space in space is on the international space station.

00:31:56.025 --> 00:32:10.531
It's a lot of space that is only a crew of six on the iss yes, really yes, okay, and you stay there for approximately six months, wow, before another team is like set up to relief you for sure, yeah.

00:32:10.531 --> 00:32:22.388
So one particular astronaut said um, he was one applicant of 8500 okay and a thousand of them were chosen to come to Germany.

00:32:22.868 --> 00:32:26.090
I think he's Belgian Gotcha.

00:32:26.090 --> 00:32:31.932
They spent one day of doing lots of very long computer-based tests.

00:32:31.932 --> 00:32:39.096
Okay, Math, physics, mechanics, English, spatial awareness and psychological testing.

00:32:39.156 --> 00:32:39.416
Yeah.

00:32:40.317 --> 00:32:43.419
Stage two was more about teamwork and communication skills.

00:32:43.419 --> 00:32:47.519
Yeah, they were interviewed by psychologists to see if you had the right character.

00:32:47.820 --> 00:32:48.141
Okay.

00:32:48.961 --> 00:32:54.183
The term interrogation was mentioned in the video I watched by this guy yeah.

00:32:54.964 --> 00:32:56.346
Oh dear.

00:32:56.387 --> 00:33:01.356
It has also been said that the tests are so hard that you feel like you never actually get to the end.

00:33:01.356 --> 00:33:02.097
Right, right, right.

00:33:02.097 --> 00:33:08.449
So once in space, on the International space station, there are four laboratories.

00:33:08.449 --> 00:33:12.965
Um, so you have to be a scientist as well, sure, as an engineer for maintenance and repairs.

00:33:13.487 --> 00:33:18.478
You literally have to do everything yeah, no, it sounds like it because again small crew.

00:33:18.665 --> 00:33:24.181
Yeah, you're up there you have to learn each station's components inside and out, sure um?

00:33:24.181 --> 00:33:35.734
They also go through the rickers, emergency plans training, survival training, and they even go through like simulated death on the iss oh wow, yeah, I mean what happens if somebody dies up there?

00:33:35.734 --> 00:33:49.990
Yeah, you have to take care of it, yeah, so they also work inside the station in spacesuits, sure, and they work outside the station in spacesuits by working in pools okay which simulate weightlessness gotcha.

00:33:50.813 --> 00:33:52.895
So here they.

00:33:52.895 --> 00:34:02.351
They experience what it would be like to spacewalk by doing like the diving training, sure, which means they also have to have their diver's certificate oh, I suppose.

00:34:02.391 --> 00:34:04.116
Yeah, yes, I didn't even think of that.

00:34:04.116 --> 00:34:10.246
You always see, like in movies or there, if there's anything about astronauts, where they're in the giant pool in their suits.

00:34:10.246 --> 00:34:22.666
So yeah, they have to have their, their diving certificates too that's funny their resume is impressive well, yeah, I mean it goes on for a while do you think howard wallowitz had all of that in big bang theory?

00:34:22.666 --> 00:34:23.547
You know it's.

00:34:23.547 --> 00:34:28.896
I was just thinking about Howard Wolowitz too in that little stretch of episodes.

00:34:28.896 --> 00:34:30.539
But I'm going to go with no Hard no.

00:34:32.306 --> 00:34:40.916
They probably didn't do the research, nope, so they also explored caves to help strengthen teamwork.

00:34:41.918 --> 00:34:42.619
Really Mm-hmm.

00:34:42.619 --> 00:34:44.744
That seems kind of a random one, but okay.

00:34:45.186 --> 00:34:47.367
So then you need a pilot's license as well.

00:34:47.367 --> 00:34:52.784
Of course, you'd fly something like a Cessna, and then perhaps later a Boeing 737.

00:34:52.784 --> 00:35:02.949
Okay, and then they also had to learn a degree of Russian really it's the second official language on board the ISS well, yeah, I guess that makes sense Okay.

00:35:04.211 --> 00:35:10.559
Some astronauts from certain areas of the world end up studying up to like four languages to become an astronaut.

00:35:10.559 --> 00:35:11.260
That's crazy.

00:35:11.260 --> 00:35:18.722
So the Belgian astronaut that I mentioned earlier yeah, he was one of 8,500.

00:35:18.722 --> 00:35:22.579
He was born speaking Flemish, which is a Dutch language.

00:35:22.579 --> 00:35:28.891
Yeah, and then to become an officer in the military, he had to learn French.

00:35:29.353 --> 00:35:29.572
Sure.

00:35:30.320 --> 00:35:33.030
To become a pilot, he needed to learn English, okay.

00:35:33.030 --> 00:35:36.030
And to become an astronaut, he had to learn Russian, that's crazy.

00:35:36.320 --> 00:35:37.625
So you can speak four languages.

00:35:37.625 --> 00:35:38.768
Yeah, that's impressive.

00:35:38.768 --> 00:35:39.840
I can barely speak one.

00:35:40.101 --> 00:35:40.382
Yeah.

00:35:40.922 --> 00:35:41.264
Same.

00:35:41.423 --> 00:35:47.273
I know To many of these candidates, learning Russian was actually their hardest feat.

00:35:47.273 --> 00:35:47.592
Okay, wow.

00:35:50.260 --> 00:35:51.505
You just say vodka a lot.

00:35:52.268 --> 00:35:53.661
Vodka Exactly.

00:35:54.364 --> 00:35:56.610
Would you like some more vodka Da?

00:35:57.721 --> 00:35:58.242
Das ist gut.

00:35:58.242 --> 00:35:59.869
Ja, that's German.

00:36:01.240 --> 00:36:02.144
I know, that's why I did it.

00:36:02.144 --> 00:36:02.385
Das ist gut.

00:36:02.385 --> 00:36:03.309
Ja, Das ist gut.

00:36:03.331 --> 00:36:04.576
Ja, that's German I know, that's why I did it.

00:36:04.576 --> 00:36:04.916
Das ist gut, ja.

00:36:04.938 --> 00:36:05.378
Das ist gut ja.

00:36:06.619 --> 00:36:14.641
So there is a week of medical tests and the video quoted and the video will be in our show notes, but it's quoted.

00:36:14.641 --> 00:36:18.028
Available and unavailable orifices are checked.

00:36:18.469 --> 00:36:19.190
Oh, dear, I'm sorry.

00:36:19.311 --> 00:36:20.554
What yeah, say that again.

00:36:20.554 --> 00:36:22.547
Available and unavailable.

00:36:24.380 --> 00:36:25.306
What does that mean?

00:36:25.306 --> 00:36:27.027
I want to know what the unavailable ones are.

00:36:27.300 --> 00:36:28.324
What does that mean I?

00:36:28.485 --> 00:36:29.088
have no idea.

00:36:29.360 --> 00:36:31.128
An orifice is literally a hole.

00:36:31.128 --> 00:36:33.041
Why is there an unavailable hole?

00:36:33.420 --> 00:36:34.222
Well, they're going to find them.

00:36:34.561 --> 00:36:35.503
That's a clogged hole.

00:36:35.523 --> 00:36:36.402
And they're going to check them out.

00:36:36.402 --> 00:36:38.704
Wow, I don't want to go through that.

00:36:38.704 --> 00:36:41.327
That's crazy.

00:36:41.686 --> 00:36:43.867
Unavailable orifices.

00:36:44.027 --> 00:36:46.389
I think that's just the title of this episode.

00:36:46.389 --> 00:36:47.650
Don't you.

00:36:47.911 --> 00:36:50.632
They're literally like taken apart and put back together.

00:36:50.632 --> 00:36:58.077
Wow, they have to go through like a medical background check on the family Tumors, illnesses, disorders and psychological disorders.

00:36:58.077 --> 00:37:03.351
Wow, my depression will not get me in.

00:37:05.079 --> 00:37:05.862
I guess I'll withdraw my application.

00:37:06.483 --> 00:37:10.331
So when you return to Earth, you have to undergo much of the same testing?

00:37:10.331 --> 00:37:12.101
I would imagine yeah.

00:37:12.101 --> 00:37:18.514
So when you have been assigned a flight, you train for that specific mission, which can take place all over the world.

00:37:23.539 --> 00:37:27.007
And this could be approximately like 18 to three years long, and sometimes more 18 to years, 18 months to 3 years.

00:37:27.027 --> 00:37:27.429
Yeah, there it is.

00:37:27.429 --> 00:37:50.905
Yeah, in russia, if they land in siberia or in the desert yeah um, they have to be able to survive in case they aren't found right away well, yeah, that would make sense, yeah, that would suck they literally must be prepared for anything, and that reminds me I think it was Michael Collins, but I'm not sure Two out of the three astronauts for Apollo 11 were Boy Scouts.

00:37:51.286 --> 00:37:51.706
Oh nice.

00:37:51.706 --> 00:37:53.050
Yes, I was a Boy Scout.

00:37:53.050 --> 00:37:54.932
Yeah, be prepared.

00:37:55.253 --> 00:37:55.855
Yes, exactly.

00:37:55.855 --> 00:38:07.086
So there is a final two-day exam on the systems of the spaceship and then, a month before takeoff, the astronauts receive a five-page document to be filled out.

00:38:07.086 --> 00:38:10.882
In the event of your death oh sure, how do you want to be buried?

00:38:10.882 --> 00:38:13.148
What about your family, etc all that.

00:38:13.188 --> 00:38:14.914
Yeah, so it's basically like their will.

00:38:15.134 --> 00:38:19.795
Yep, for the most part then they have another final medical examination.

00:38:19.795 --> 00:38:21.802
They're just like are you still fit, are you still good?

00:38:21.802 --> 00:38:23.969
How are you good from yesterday to today?

00:38:24.489 --> 00:38:25.494
is there any other?

00:38:25.494 --> 00:38:27.500
Uh, unexplored, or what was the word again?

00:38:27.500 --> 00:38:36.809
Unavailable orifices that we forgot about oh my god, I don't get it that's so great.

00:38:36.869 --> 00:38:46.987
So once back on earth, they require several weeks of rehabilitation as their muscles grow weak, sure, um, even with exercise regularly on the iss?

00:38:46.987 --> 00:38:54.244
Yeah, and this is all done before you are accepted to perform any additional tasks in nasa.

00:38:54.244 --> 00:38:57.760
Yeah, okay, like once you're back, you've got rehabilitation and that's it.

00:38:57.760 --> 00:38:59.262
Sure, I mean that makes sense.

00:38:59.262 --> 00:39:10.655
After their first or second mission, many American astronauts leave NASA, as they usually get pretty great offers from the aerospace industry.

00:39:10.655 --> 00:39:11.056
Sure.

00:39:11.155 --> 00:39:11.675
Makes sense.

00:39:12.701 --> 00:39:13.443
In Europe.

00:39:13.443 --> 00:39:17.853
Once you're in the program, you don't leave, you just get assigned to another role.

00:39:18.179 --> 00:39:19.045
Oh, really Okay.

00:39:19.659 --> 00:39:24.911
So you could be assigned to various committees designing aircraft, doing recommendations, things like that.

00:39:25.072 --> 00:39:25.313
Okay.

00:39:26.561 --> 00:39:31.833
So NASA opens applications for its astronaut program approximately every four years.

00:39:31.833 --> 00:39:33.003
Oh really.

00:39:33.083 --> 00:39:34.588
So it's like the Olympics.

00:39:34.800 --> 00:39:41.210
Yeah, so currently today there are 48 active NASA astronauts.

00:39:41.210 --> 00:39:41.913
Wow, that's it.

00:39:41.913 --> 00:39:48.016
Huh, yeah, that's crazy, 360 total since 1959.

00:39:49.221 --> 00:39:51.306
I would have figured the number would be a lot larger.

00:39:51.306 --> 00:39:53.391
But I mean, with what you say they accept.

00:39:53.391 --> 00:39:54.413
I guess that makes sense.

00:39:54.413 --> 00:39:59.231
That number seems awfully low, but at the same time it makes total sense.

00:39:59.231 --> 00:40:01.427
Wow, only 360,.

00:40:01.427 --> 00:40:02.521
You said yeah, wow that's.

00:40:02.521 --> 00:40:03.346
Wow, only 360.

00:40:03.365 --> 00:40:10.844
You said yeah, wow, that's crazy, so out of the 360 yeah 299 were men, okay, 61 women, sure.

00:40:10.844 --> 00:40:15.509
Out of the 360, 2 191 were pilots.

00:40:15.509 --> 00:40:18.050
Sure 159 were non-pilots.

00:40:18.050 --> 00:40:30.726
Yeah, as of August 2023, fewer than 700 people have made it into space.

00:40:31.168 --> 00:40:32.949
That's crazy, and that's like international.

00:40:32.949 --> 00:40:33.931
Yeah, right, right.

00:40:33.931 --> 00:40:38.820
I mean, it's not something we normally go up to so Exactly.

00:40:40.364 --> 00:40:42.831
So that is how you become an astronaut.

00:40:43.820 --> 00:40:44.099
That sounds.

00:40:44.099 --> 00:40:49.547
Was that the video?

00:40:49.807 --> 00:40:52.231
Yeah, I was going to give you the title of the video.

00:40:52.231 --> 00:40:54.574
It's literally called how to Become an Astronaut.

00:40:54.855 --> 00:40:55.135
Okay.

00:41:06.701 --> 00:41:07.581
It's a Welt Documentary Documentary.

00:41:07.581 --> 00:41:08.304
Did I go Britishish for a second?

00:41:08.304 --> 00:41:10.768
I think so, um, and then I got a lot of my information from the actual nasa website.

00:41:10.768 --> 00:41:11.971
Oh cool, but isn't that a lot?

00:41:12.112 --> 00:41:16.108
that is so much I mean you can understand why so many people don't do it.

00:41:16.108 --> 00:41:23.311
Because you have to be obviously or don't get accepted or don't get accepted, for that matter too, but you have to be obviously very dedicated, very smart.

00:41:23.311 --> 00:41:27.108
I actually know somebody who works for NASA.

00:41:27.588 --> 00:41:27.730
Yeah.

00:41:28.079 --> 00:41:29.867
Yeah, he's incredibly smart.

00:41:29.867 --> 00:41:35.579
I think he's still I'm assuming he still does, but he lives in Houston, of course, and whatnot.

00:41:35.579 --> 00:41:44.483
But super smart kid Like he's younger than me, but he was my brother who's a year older than me, his friend because he skipped the grade naturally.

00:41:44.543 --> 00:41:47.726
Yeah, cause he's just brilliant and a super nice guy.

00:41:47.726 --> 00:41:51.009
Um, but uh, yeah.

00:41:51.009 --> 00:41:55.592
So I don't know exactly what he's not an astronaut, but I don't know what he does for NASA.

00:41:55.592 --> 00:41:58.855
But yeah, he's been there for quite some time, if I'm not mistaken.

00:41:58.855 --> 00:42:02.556
But uh, yeah, I I could not go through all that.

00:42:02.556 --> 00:42:10.306
I mean, my crappy knees in my classes would probably keep me out of most things anyways, they would just look at you and be like sorry.

00:42:10.599 --> 00:42:11.746
Dude, you just want to turn around.

00:42:11.746 --> 00:42:18.048
I mean, let's all just stop wasting our time here, you saw where you came in, right yeah you know that door, use it again.

00:42:18.048 --> 00:42:21.108
No, that's wild.

00:42:21.108 --> 00:42:26.541
I never realized there was that few through.

00:42:26.541 --> 00:42:28.005
Yeah, I didn't either since 1950.

00:42:28.005 --> 00:42:28.565
What nine, nine?

00:42:28.565 --> 00:42:30.730
Okay, I never realized that number was so low.

00:42:30.730 --> 00:42:32.753
That's pretty wild, yeah.

00:42:32.873 --> 00:42:43.795
so so I'm thinking, yes, we get sarah, okay, and we watch Jim Lovell.

00:42:44.197 --> 00:42:46.059
Yeah, yes, yeah, let's do that.

00:42:46.059 --> 00:42:46.981
Yeah, we can do that.

00:42:47.161 --> 00:42:54.121
Okay, good, um, so it was a little bit different story today, but I think it's pretty, pretty cool.

00:42:54.302 --> 00:43:10.824
No, I like it Cause I mean, I I never knew any of that information and, um, it's, it's just amazing that, like I said, the dedication and all the things you have to go through just to become that, yeah, I mean and then you aren't even guaranteed to get into space.

00:43:10.824 --> 00:43:12.869
Exactly, and that's what I was just going to say.

00:43:12.869 --> 00:43:17.206
It's like you do all of this and then it's like all right, just keep training, maybe your day will come.

00:43:17.206 --> 00:43:18.367
And it's like will it?

00:43:18.367 --> 00:43:19.128
I don't know.

00:43:19.429 --> 00:43:21.612
It's like oh, I aged out, I got an illness.

00:43:21.893 --> 00:43:24.483
Yeah, or something whatever.

00:43:24.523 --> 00:43:25.547
I got arthritis.

00:43:25.849 --> 00:43:29.990
Yeah, but I mean, obviously they make a pretty decent salary while they're even training.

00:43:29.990 --> 00:43:36.108
So I mean that's obviously good for them, but no, that's wild.

00:43:36.108 --> 00:43:36.992
I never knew that.

00:43:37.440 --> 00:43:42.072
But it's like you have to go in with that expectation of you're not going to space.

00:43:42.072 --> 00:43:42.452
Yeah.

00:43:43.559 --> 00:43:46.068
You to go in with that expectation of you're not going to space.

00:43:46.068 --> 00:43:46.990
Yeah, you're just hoping to.

00:43:47.010 --> 00:43:48.355
Yeah, this doesn't guarantee you a mission to space?

00:43:48.375 --> 00:43:49.257
no at all, isn't that crazy.

00:43:49.257 --> 00:43:53.692
You could be one of them we don't, we don't know yet maybe we'll decide when the time comes.

00:43:53.692 --> 00:44:00.570
Yeah, yeah no, that's crazy yeah, that was definitely a a different little story than we, uh, normally do, but I liked it.

00:44:00.570 --> 00:44:01.320
That was very cool.

00:44:01.681 --> 00:44:03.525
So do you have an idiom for me?

00:44:03.824 --> 00:44:04.186
I do.

00:44:05.047 --> 00:44:09.795
Let's hear it All right, all right.

00:44:10.019 --> 00:44:24.682
So for this idiom I picked one that's kind of relevant to the time of year we're in, because a lot of people do this for gifts, but it's called white elephant, which is the idiom.

00:44:24.682 --> 00:44:30.965
White elephant refers to something that is difficult to get rid of and is more expensive to maintain than it is useful, which I think it's kind of morphed out of that for the most part.

00:44:32.168 --> 00:44:32.670
So what would?

00:44:33.731 --> 00:44:36.438
hi Bonnie Uh.

00:44:36.438 --> 00:44:43.179
For example, you might describe an old cottage that is too run down to sell but still costly to maintain as a white elephant.

00:44:43.179 --> 00:44:52.724
The term comes from an old thai custom where the king would give rare, expensive to care for white elephants to people he was displeased with.

00:44:52.724 --> 00:45:00.186
The king would wait for the owner to be ruined by the high cost of feeding the animal, which could not be slaughtered.

00:45:00.186 --> 00:45:18.114
The story was told in england in the 1600s and the term began to be used figuratively in the 1800s that's crazy how that stuff lasts so long yeah, so a king was basically a dick and said, uh, bonnie, you need to not do that.

00:45:19.342 --> 00:45:27.568
Uh, so he's basically just being a dick to put a person in financial ruin because he was displeased with them so it's a quite a creative way to do it.

00:45:27.568 --> 00:45:29.152
Don't get on his bad side.

00:45:29.152 --> 00:45:34.153
Yeah, apparently I never seen a white elephant, but apparently they have.

00:45:34.153 --> 00:45:36.119
I don't know, was it albino?

00:45:36.400 --> 00:45:41.822
I don't know, that's what I would assume, but those are also very rare and obviously now a white elephant gift.

00:45:41.882 --> 00:45:42.043
Is what?

00:45:42.043 --> 00:45:44.590
Mainly, mainly just a random thing?

00:45:44.590 --> 00:45:46.407
Is that more or less what it is?

00:45:47.021 --> 00:45:51.085
So I think there's still some connotation of like this is a gag gift.

00:45:51.266 --> 00:45:51.967
Yeah right.

00:45:52.400 --> 00:45:58.739
But like when I do stuff like that at work, we call it white elephant, but it's just more of a Christmas exchange.

00:45:59.159 --> 00:46:05.885
Yeah, that's kind of what I think it's morphed into more or less these days, but it started off with the king being a dick, so there you go.

00:46:06.260 --> 00:46:07.545
And who was he king of?

00:46:08.021 --> 00:46:12.452
He was a Thai custom, so he was a king in Thailand.

00:46:12.452 --> 00:46:16.309
I guess I didn't know they had kings there, but I guess I don't know much about Thailand.

00:46:16.309 --> 00:46:19.726
But yeah, so there you go.

00:46:19.726 --> 00:46:23.514
White elephant, don't get one, they're expensive.

00:46:23.780 --> 00:46:25.847
They're expensive to maintain and you can't slaughter them.

00:46:26.760 --> 00:46:28.286
I don't know why you'd want to slaughter an elephant.

00:46:28.286 --> 00:46:31.586
Anyways, I don't think so, majestic creatures that they are, they are.

00:46:31.586 --> 00:46:33.846
So, anyways, there you go.

00:46:37.516 --> 00:46:38.016
Well, thank you.

00:46:38.338 --> 00:46:39.019
Yeah, no problem.

00:46:39.201 --> 00:46:41.248
What did you think about your Mountain Dew?

00:46:41.248 --> 00:46:45.222
I mean, it's a staple in my life.

00:46:45.222 --> 00:46:46.967
It is a staple a lot of people drink coffee in the morning.

00:46:47.047 --> 00:46:48.632
I have a mountain dew because I'm not.

00:46:48.632 --> 00:46:51.365
I just don't drink coffee and I don't like warm beverages.

00:46:51.706 --> 00:47:06.364
Yeah, but uh gets my caffeine fix in the morning, yeah, so I have been craving sprite for like a solid couple weeks, so the bubbles are just excellent on a throat that's still healing from having a cold.

00:47:06.364 --> 00:47:07.045
Yeah, no doubt.

00:47:07.045 --> 00:47:09.028
So yeah, well.

00:47:09.550 --> 00:47:12.806
I suppose All right, buffoons, that's it for today's episode.

00:47:13.480 --> 00:47:16.882
Buckle up, because we've got another historical adventure waiting for you.

00:47:16.882 --> 00:47:24.949
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00:47:25.521 --> 00:47:26.827
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00:47:26.827 --> 00:47:31.791
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00:47:42.070 --> 00:47:45.268
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00:47:45.820 --> 00:47:47.847
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