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.
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.
Position | Duties | Examples | Comments |
---|---|---|---|
Mercury | |||
Pilot | Overall mission success | Mercury Seven | 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). |
Gemini | |||
Command Pilot | Overall mission success, safety of crew and spacecraft | James McDivitt | McDivitt was the first rookie Command Pilot. |
Pilot | Serves as systems engineer, copilot, and would perform any other mission objectives such as EVA's during the Gemini program. | Ed White | White was the first American who made an EVA (extravehicular activity). |
Apollo | |||
Commander | Overall mission success, safety of crew and spacecraft, pilot in command of spacecraft during launch, trans-lunar coast, and Earth return coast. Also pilot in command of the Apollo Lunar Module. The commander would make the actual descent and landing of LM on the lunar surface, as well as the lunar ascent back to the orbiting CSM. | Apollo 11 Commander: Neil Armstrong, first man on the Moon. Apollo 11 Backup Commander: Jim Lovell, Commander of Apollo 13. | |
Command Module Pilot | Responsible for knowing the CSM and their systems fully. Serve as flight engineer during launch phase while commander would be in full control of the vehicle. Perform navigation and mid-course correction procedures during trans-lunar and trans-Earth phases of flight, command pilot of CSM during lunar orbit phase (when the mission commander is in control of the lunar module from separation phase until the LM docked back with CSM in lunar orbit). The CM pilot would also have other objectives during lunar orbit phase such as lunar photography, research and study for future landing sites for subsequent Apollo missions, deploy lunar satellite in some cases, as well as being responsible for relaying messages from mission control if radio contact with the LM was lost or weak, and also responsible for performing an orbital rescue with the LM if it were to malfunction and not be able to perform as needed to rendezvous with CSM as planned for in normal cases, but this never was needed. However, the CM pilot was responsible for docking the two ships together when the LM returned to orbit after being on the surface. On later J-series missions, the CM pilot would conduct an EVA on the return voyage to collect film canisters in the SIM bay. | Michael Collins, Backup CMP: William Anders | |
Lunar Module Pilot | Flight engineer of Apollo Lunar Module during descent and ascent of the LM also responsible for its systems during all phases of flight between Earth and Moon. The LMP would callout key information to the commander during the most critical descent and landing phases when all of the commander's attention would be focused out the window and on visually flying the LM to a suitable landing spot on the surface. He would also control the navigation computer and other subsystems of the craft while the commander had hands on the controls to fly the ship down manually the last portion of the descent when manual control was taken over from the computer. | Buzz Aldrin, second man on the Moon Backup LMP: Fred Haise | Aldrin was the first person in space with a doctorate |
Docking Module Pilot | Deke Slayton, Mercury 7 astronaut, Backup DMP: Jack Lousma | Position only used once during Apollo–Soyuz joint mission | |
Skylab | |||
Commander | Overall mission success, safety of crew and spacecraft | Pete Conrad, first Skylab commander | |
Pilot | Paul J. Weitz | ||
Science Pilot | Joseph P. Kerwin, first American physician in space | ||
Space Shuttle | |||
Commander (CDR) | Overall mission success, safety of crew and Shuttle, maneuvered Shuttle with assistance from Pilot. | John Young, commander of the first Shuttle mission | All Shuttle commanders had prior spaceflight experience. [a] Required a degree in engineering, biological science, physical science, or mathematics. Must have had at least 1000 hours flying experience on a jet aircraft, [2] and at least 750 simulated landings in the Shuttle Training Aircraft. [3] Must pass a NASA Class I space physical to be certified for flight. [4] |
Pilot (PLT) | Assists the Commander in maneuvering the Shuttle. May have also been responsible for release and recovery of satellites. | Robert Crippen, flew the first Space Shuttle mission as pilot | Same education and flight experience requirements as a Commander, [2] but does not need prior spaceflight experience. |
Payload Commander (PLC) | A Mission Specialist with additional responsibility for the management of the science or other major payload elements of the mission. [5] | Story Musgrave, Michael P. Anderson | Payload Commanders were always NASA astronauts. |
Mission Specialist (MS) | An astronaut assigned to a Shuttle crew with mission-specific duties. | 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. [4] |
Flight Engineer (FE) | A Mission Specialist with additional responsibility for assisting the Commander and Pilot during ascent and landing. The FE kept track of information from CAPCOM and called out milestones. | Story Musgrave, Sally Ride, Michael P. Anderson | The FE is always mission specialist 2 (MS-2) and sits in seat 4 on the Shuttle flight deck for both launch and landing. |
Payload Specialist (PS) | Technical experts who accompanied specific payloads such as a commercial or scientific satellites. |
| Payload Specialists were non-NASA personnel. The term was also applied to representatives from partner nations such as Saudi Arabia and Mexico who were given the opportunity to fly on the Space Shuttle. This position was discontinued in 2003 following the Columbia disaster. |
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. |
International Mission Specialist | Same as mission specialist but may have had payload-specific duties assigned by home agency. | Hans Schlegel | |
USAF Manned Spaceflight Engineer | Same as payload specialist, but were military personnel who accompanied military payloads. | Gary Payton | Payton and William A. Pailes were the only Manned Spaceflight Engineers to fly before the program's termination in 1988. |
Spaceflight Participant | People who travel aboard space missions coordinated by those agencies who are not part of the crew. | Christa McAuliffe, Teacher in Space Project, Space Shuttle Challenger disaster | This term serves to distinguish tourists and other special travelers from the career astronauts. |
Commercial Crew Program | |||
Spacecraft Commander | Overall mission success, safety of crew and spacecraft, manages ascent and entry | Douglas G. Hurley, Demo-2 [6] | |
Joint Operations Commander | Manages rendezvous, docking, and undocking with the ISS, and quiescent operations while docked | Robert L. Behnken, Demo-2 | Position only used once during the Demo-2 mission. |
Pilot | Assist the Spacecraft Commander in maneuvering the capsule. | Victor Glover, Crew-1 | Used on NASA contracted Crew Dragon flights starting with Crew-1. |
Mission Specialist | A NASA or affiliated astronaut with mission-specific duties. | Soichi Noguchi, first Crew Dragon Mission Specialist, | Used on NASA contracted Crew Dragon flights starting with Crew-1. |
Artemis program | |||
Commander | Overall mission success, safety of crew and spacecraft. | Reid Wiseman, Artemis 2 | |
Pilot | Victor Glover, Artemis 2 | ||
Mission Specialist | A NASA or affiliated astronaut with mission-specific duties. | Jeremy Hansen, Artemis 2 | |
Payload Specialist | A NASA or affiliated astronaut with engineering - mission specific duties |
Cosmonauts are professional space travellers from Russia. After initial training, cosmonauts are assigned as either a test cosmonaut (Russian: космонавт испытатель, romanized: kosmonavt ispytatel) or a research cosmonaut (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. [7]
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.
Position | Duties | Examples | Comments |
---|---|---|---|
Vostok | |||
Pilot Cosmonaut | Overall mission success | Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space | As a single-seat spacecraft, the cosmonaut who flew the Vostok missions were referred to simply as "Pilot Cosmonauts". |
Voskhod | |||
Commander | Overall mission success, safety of crew and spacecraft | Vladimir Komarov, commanded the first multi-person flight | |
Second Pilot | Alexei Leonov, the first person to perform a spacewalk | ||
Scientist Cosmonaut | Konstantin Feoktistov, the first engineer in space | ||
Doctor Cosmonaut | Boris Yegorov, the first doctor in space | ||
Soyuz | |||
Commander | Overall mission success, safety of crew and spacecraft | Vladimir Dzhanibekov, commander of missions to Salyut 6 and Salyut 7 space stations | |
Flight Engineer | One or two flight engineers per mission. Assist Commander and perform mission-specific duties | Svetlana Savitskaya, the first female to perform a spacewalk | |
Spaceflight Participant | No official 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. |
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. Upon graduation, candidates are promoted to Astronaut.
The positions of Spacecraft Pilot, Flight Engineer, and Mission Payload Specialist were listed in the announcement for the Group 3 selection. [8]
Position | Duties | Examples | Comments |
---|---|---|---|
Shenzhou | |||
Commander (指挥长) | Overall mission success, safety of crew and vehicle | Yang Liwei, Shenzhou 5 (first crewed Shenzhou) | |
Spacecraft Pilot | |||
Flight Engineer (操作手/飞行工程师) [9] | Assist Commander and perform mission-specific duties | Nie Haisheng, Shenzhou 6 (first flight engineer) | |
Orbital Module Astronaut | EVA Crew Member | Liu Boming (astronaut), Shenzhou 7 (first three-person Shenzhou) | |
Descent Module Monitor Astronaut | Intravehicular Specialist of the Eva | Jing Haipeng, Shenzhou 7 (first three-person Shenzhou) | |
Operator | Help the Commander navigate the spacecraft | Chen Dong, Shenzhou 11 | |
System Operator | Daily work in the station and experiments (This was during the Shenzhou 12-14 missions) | Tang Hongbo, Shenzhou 12 | |
Science Specialist | Similar to System Operator but more inclined to science (starting with Shenzhou 15) | Zhang Lu, Shenzhou 15 | |
Payload Specialist (载荷专家) [9] | Civilian astronaut responsible for mission-specific duties | Gui Haichao, Shenzhou 16 |
Position | Duties | Examples | Comments |
---|---|---|---|
Commander | Overall mission success, safety of crew and Station. | Peggy Whitson, first female commander | |
Flight Engineer | Overall mission success, science | Robert Thirsk, first Canadian astronaut to be part of an ISS expedition | |
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. | Anousheh Ansari, first female space tourist | 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. |
Sandra Hall Magnus is an American engineer and a former NASA astronaut. She flew to space three times, as mission specialist on STS-112, as ISS crewmember during Expedition 18 and as mission specialist on STS-135. She is also a licensed amateur radio operator with the call sign KE5FYE. From 2012 until 2018 Magnus was the executive director of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
Jerry Lynn Ross is a retired United States Air Force officer, engineer, and a former NASA astronaut. Ross is a veteran of 7 Space Shuttle missions, making him the joint record holder for most spaceflights.
Henry Warren Hartsfield Jr. was a United States Air Force Colonel and NASA astronaut who logged over 480 hours in space. He was inducted into the United States Astronaut Hall of Fame in 2006.
Shannon Matilda Wells Lucid is an American biochemist and retired NASA astronaut. She has flown in space five times, including a prolonged mission aboard the Russian space station Mir in 1996, and is the only American woman to have stayed on Mir. From 1996 to 2007, Lucid held the record for the longest duration spent in space by an American and by a woman. She was awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor in December 1996, making her the tenth person and the first woman to be accorded the honor.
Vance DeVoe Brand is a retired American naval officer, aviator, aeronautical engineer, test pilot, and NASA astronaut. He served as command module pilot during the first U.S.-Soviet joint spaceflight in 1975, and as commander of three Space Shuttle missions.
Norman Earl Thagard is an American scientist and former U.S. Marine Corps officer and naval aviator and NASA astronaut. He is the first American to ride to space on board a Russian vehicle, and can be considered the first American cosmonaut. He did this on March 14, 1995, in the Soyuz TM-21 spacecraft for the Russian Mir-18 mission.
STS-88 was the first Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS). It was flown by Space Shuttle Endeavour, and took the first American module, the Unity node, to the station.
Michael Allen Baker is a retired captain in the United States Navy, former NASA astronaut, and the International Space Station Program Manager for International and Crew Operations, at NASA's Johnson Space Center. He is responsible for the coordination of program operations, integration and flight crew training and support activities with the International Partners.
Kenneth Donald Cameron, , is an American retired naval aviator, test pilot, engineer, U.S. Marine Corps officer, and NASA astronaut.
Steven Wayne Lindsey is a retired U.S. Air Force officer and NASA astronaut. Lindsey served as Chief of the NASA Astronaut Office from September 2006 until October 2009.
Charles Joseph Precourt is a retired NASA astronaut. His career in flight began at an early age, and spans his entire lifetime. He served in the US Air Force, piloted numerous jet aircraft, and piloted and commanded the Space Shuttle. Notably, he piloted or commanded several missions which involved docking with the Russian Mir space station and was heavily involved in Russian/US Space relations as well as the International Space Station collaboration. He also served as Chief of the Astronaut Office from 1998 to 2002. He retired from the USAF with the rank of colonel.
James Shelton Voss is a retired United States Army colonel and NASA astronaut. During his time with NASA, Voss flew in space five times on board the Space Shuttle and International Space Station. He also served as deputy of Flight Operations for the Space Station Program Mission Integration and Operations Office.
United States astronaut badges are the various badges of the United States which are awarded to military and civilian personnel of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the various child departments of the Department of Defense, or a private space-faring entity, who have performed a spaceflight. The military versions are among the least-awarded qualification badges of the United States armed forces.
The Shuttle–Mir program was a collaborative space program between Russia and the United States that involved American Space Shuttles visiting the Russian space station Mir, Russian cosmonauts flying on the Shuttle, and an American astronaut flying aboard a Soyuz spacecraft to allow American astronauts to engage in long-duration expeditions aboard Mir.
Leonid Kostyantynovych Kadenyuk was the first astronaut of independent Ukraine to fly into outer space.
A payload specialist (PS) was an individual selected and trained by commercial or research organizations for flights of a specific payload on a NASA Space Shuttle mission. People assigned as payload specialists included individuals selected by the research community, a company or consortium flying a commercial payload aboard the spacecraft, and non-NASA astronauts designated by international partners.
Akihiko Hoshide is a Japanese engineer, JAXA astronaut, and former commander of the International Space Station. On August 30, 2012, Hoshide became the third Japanese astronaut to walk in space.
NASA Astronaut Group 8 was a group of 35 astronauts announced on January 16, 1978. It was the first NASA selection since Group 6 in 1967, and was the largest group to that date. The class was the first to include female and minority astronauts; of the 35 selected, six were women, one of them being Jewish American, three were African American, and one was Asian American. Due to the long delay between the last Apollo lunar mission in 1972 and the first flight of the Space Shuttle in 1981, few astronauts from the older groups remained, and they were outnumbered by the newcomers, who became known as the Thirty-Five New Guys (TFNG). Since then, a new group of candidates has been selected roughly every two years.
NASA Astronaut Group 9 was a group of 19 NASA astronauts announced on May 29, 1980, and completed their training by 1981. This group was selected to supplement the 35 astronauts that had been selected in 1978, and marked the first time that non-Americans were trained as mission specialists with the selections of ESA astronauts Claude Nicollier and Wubbo Ockels. In keeping with the previous group, astronaut candidates were divided into pilots and mission specialists, with eight pilots, eleven mission specialists, and two international mission specialists within the group.
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