Astronaut ranks and positions
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Astronauts hold a variety of ranks and positions, and each of these roles carries unique responsibilities that are integral to the successful 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.
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[edit] NASA ranks and positions
[edit] Ranks
Members of the NASA Astronaut Corps can hold one of two ranks. Astronaut Candidate is the rank of those training to be NASA astronauts.
Upon graduation, 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.
[edit] Mercury positions
As a single-seat spacecraft, the astronauts who flew the Mercury missions were referred to simply as "Pilots". Mercury Pilots were required to have experience as a pilot of high-performance jet aircraft and to be no more than 5 feet 11 inches (180 cm) tall and weigh no more than 180 pounds (82 kg).
[edit] Positions
| Position | Duties | Examples | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gemini | |||
| Command Pilot | |||
| Pilot | |||
| Apollo | |||
| Commander | Overall mission commander | Neil Armstrong, first man on the Moon Jim Lovell, commander of Apollo 13 |
|
| Command Module Pilot | Stay aboard command module during lunar excursion | Michael Collins, Pilot of Apollo 11 | |
| Lunar Module Pilot | Responsible for descent and ascent of the Lunar Module | Harrison Schmitt, first scientist in space | |
| Skylab | |||
| Commander | Pete Conrad, first Skylab commander | ||
| Pilot | |||
| Science Pilot | Joseph P. Kerwin, first physician in space | ||
| Apollo-Soyuz | |||
| Commander | Thomas Stafford | ||
| Command Module Pilot | Vance Brand | Brand had trained with the Apollo Spacecraft used for this mission for the Skylab rescue mission | |
| Docking Module Pilot | Deke Slayton, Mercury 7 astronaut | ||
| Space Shuttle | |||
| Commander | Overall mission success, safety of crew and Shuttle, maneuvers Shuttle with assistance from Pilot. | John W. Young, commander of the first shuttle mission | All Shuttle commanders have prior spaceflight experience. Requires a degree in engineering, biological science, physical science or mathematics. Must have at least 1000 hours flying experience on a jet aircraft.[1] Must pass a NASA Class I space physical to be certified for flight.[2] |
| Pilot | Assist the Commander in maneuvering the Shuttle. May be responsible for release and recovery of satellites. | Robert Crippen, flew the first shuttle mission as pilot | Same education and flight experience requirements as a Commander.[3] |
| Payload Commander (PLC) | A Mission Specialist with additional responsibility for the management of the science or other major payload elements of the mission.[4] | Story Musgrave, Michael P. Anderson | Payload Commanders are always NASA astronauts. Payload Specialists are non-NASA personnel. |
| Mission Specialist (MS) | A NASA astronaut assigned to a limited field of the mission. | Jerry L. Ross and Franklin Chang-Diaz each flew seven times as Shuttle Mission Specialists. | Must pass a NASA Class II space physical to be certified for flight.[5] |
| International Mission Specialist | Same as Mission Specialist but may have payload-specific duties assigned by home agency. | ||
| Educator Mission Specialist | Same as Mission Specialist but with additional education-related duties. | Joseph M. Acaba, first Puerto Rican astronaut | Position created in 2004 as part of the Educator Astronaut Project. |
| Payload Specialist | Technical experts who accompany specific payloads such as a commercial or scientific satellites. |
|
Term also applied to representatives from partner nations such as Saudi Arabia and Mexico who were given the opportunity to fly on the Space Shuttle. |
| Manned Spaceflight Engineer | Same as Payload Specialist, but are military personnel who accompany military payloads. | Brett Watterson | With the cancellation of all planned Vandenberg-based Shuttle launches after the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster, no Manned Spaceflight Engineers flew on Shuttle missions using that title. |
| Spaceflight Participant | People who travel aboard space missions coordinated by those agencies who are not part of the crew. |
Christa McAuliffe, Teacher in Space primary crewmember in the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster |
This term serves to distinguish tourists and other special travelers from the career astronauts. |
[edit] RKA ranks and positions
[edit] Ranks
After initial training, cosmonauts are assigned as either a test-cosmonaut (космонавт-исследователь, kosmonavt-issledovatel’) or a research-cosmonaut (космонавт-испытатель, kosmonavt-ispytatel’). A test-cosmonaut has a more difficult preparation than a research-cosmonaut and can be 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.[7]
Pilot-Cosmonaut of the Russian Federation is a title that is presented to all cosmonauts who fly for the Russian space program.
[edit] Positions
| Position | Duties | Examples | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vostok | |||
| As a single-seat spacecraft, the cosmonaut who flew the Vostok missions were referred to simply as "Pilot Cosmonauts". | |||
| Voskhod | |||
| Commander | |||
| Second Pilot | |||
| Scientist Cosmonaut | |||
| Doctor Cosmonaut | |||
| Soyuz | |||
| Commander | |||
| Flight Engineer | |||
| Spaceflight Participant | No formal duties. |
|
Term used for Soyuz passengers who are not part of the crew, and serves to distinguish tourists and other special travelers from the career astronauts. |
| International Space Station (ISS) | |||
| Commander | Overall mission success, safety of crew and Station. | Peggy Whitson, first female commander | |
| Flight Engineer | |||
| Science Officer | Primary responsibility for station's science experiments. A secondary position for an ISS Flight Engineer. | Peggy Whitson, first science officer | Position established in 2002 by NASA to reinforce science aspect of ISS. |
| Spaceflight Participant | No formal duties. Refers to people who travel aboard NASA and RKA space missions who are not part of the crew. | Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor, first Malaysian in space | Term used for ISS visitors who are not part of the crew, and serves to distinguish tourists and other special travelers from the career astronauts. |
