Is it fitness and transferable skills? Seems like it would be most advantageous to be some sort of scientist. With the likes of SpaceX making it all more automated, will the demographic of astronauts change?
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Originally NASA was starting to hire civilian pilots and recruited crop dusters and some women even. IIRC it was Pres Johnson who ordered NASA to use Air Force test pilots (who at the time were close to developing a space worthy craft that would take/land like a jet, till suddenly it was drop everything and rocket someone to the moon asap)
Most air force test pilots didn’t want to because the space program looked like there wasn’t going to be any control, the original plans for the mercury capsule didn’t even have a window. It was supposed to controlled from the ground and the astronaught was just “spam in a can.”
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