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Astronauts hold a variety of ranks and positions. Each of these roles carries responsibilities that are essential to the operation of a spacecraft. A spacecraft's cockpit, filled with sophisticated equipment, requires skills differing from those used to manage the scientific equipment on board, and so on.
NASA ranks and positions
Ranks
Members of the NASA Astronaut Corps hold one of two ranks. Astronaut Candidate is the rank of those training to be NASA astronauts.
Upon graduation from training, candidates are promoted to Astronaut and receive their Astronaut Pin. The pin is issued in two grades, silver and gold, with the silver pin awarded to candidates who have successfully completed astronaut training and the gold pin to astronauts who have flown in space.
Chief of the Astronaut Office is a position, not a rank.
Positions
Roscosmos and Soviet space program ranks and positions
Ranks
Cosmonauts are professional space travellers from Russia. After initial training, cosmonauts are assigned as either a test cosmonaut (‹See Tfd›Russian: космонавт испытатель, romanized: kosmonavt ispytatel) or a research cosmonaut (‹See Tfd›Russian: космонавт исследователь, romanized: kosmonavt issledovatel). A test cosmonaut has a more difficult preparation than a research cosmonaut and can serve as the commander or the flight engineer of a spacecraft, while a research cosmonaut cannot.[6]
Higher ranks include pilot cosmonaut, test cosmonaut instructor, and research cosmonaut instructor.[6]
Pilot-Cosmonaut of the Russian Federation is a title that is presented to all cosmonauts who fly for the Russian space program.
Positions
China National Space Administration positions
Ranks
Similarly to NASA, members of the China National Space Administration (CNSA) hold one of two ranks. Astronaut Candidate is the rank of those training to be CNSA astronauts. The positions of Spacecraft Pilot, Flight Engineer, and Mission Payload Specialist were listed in the announcement for the Group 3 selection.[7]
Upon graduation, candidates are promoted to Astronaut.
Positions
International Space Station positions
See also
- NASA Astronaut Groups – the phases of astronaut selection
Notes
- ^ Joe Engle was the only exception as he flew on STS-2 without prior NASA spaceflight experience, but had flown the X-15 into space (by air force standards) and had participated in the Shuttle Approach and Landing Tests. Following STS-2, NASA required all space shuttle commanders to have prior spaceflight experience.[1]
References
- ^ Gebhardt, Chris (February 1, 2011). "Space Shuttle Columbia: A New Beginning and Vision". www.nasaspaceflight.com.
- ^ a b "Astronauts | Career | Education | Pilot | Commander | Mission Specialist | NASA | Space Shuttle | Flight – Page 1". Kidzworld.com. Retrieved 2012-06-09.
- ^ Bolden, Charles F. (2004-01-06). "Charles F. Bolden". NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project (Interview). Interviewed by Johnson, Sandra; Wright, Rebecca; Ross-Nazzal, Jennifer. Houston, Texas. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
{{cite interview}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: interviewers list (link) - ^ a b "Astronauts | Career | Education | Pilot | Commander | Mission Specialist | NASA | Space Shuttle | Flight – Page 2". Kidzworld.com. 2008-10-07. Retrieved 2012-06-09.
- ^ "NASA – Space Shuttle Columbia and Her Crew". Nasa.gov. 2006-03-05. Retrieved 2012-06-09.
- ^ a b McHale, Suzy. "RuSpace – Suzy's Russian space site". Suzymchale.com. Archived from the original on 2020-07-26. Retrieved 2012-06-09.
- ^ Lei, Zhao. "18 picked for nation's 3rd generation of astronauts". China Daily. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
- ^ a b Zhiying, Lin (3 October 2022). "何謂載荷專家 在太空站要從事什麼工作？" [What is a payload specialist? What does a payload specialist do on the space station?]. HK01 (in Chinese).
External links
- Shuttle Commander and Pilot definitions
- Shuttle PLC, MS, and PS definitions