What college should i go to if I want to be an astronaut?

Question

ok so I have decided I would like to be an astronaut when i become older. well, im not sure which college i should attend. i know i should major in the math or science field. well i love the both but i would like my major to be in Science. I live in Houston, Texas and i really want to go to a college that is close. i would really perfer a college in Houstotn. I have tried to look on the internet at what college i should go to but im kinda having difficulties finding what i need. So if someone could either give me a good site to look for what i need, or i would really like if someone could list off some schools that would be good. OH AND IF THERE ARE ANY ASTRONAUTS HERE PLEASE LET ME KNOW CAUSE I WOULD LIKE TO TALK TO ONE THAT CAN GIVE ME SOME IDEAS. Thanks everyone.

Answer 1

The Air Force...........no doubt about it.

when there study physics or biology.

then you'll have a chance

Answer 2

Either Rice University in Houston or the Air Force Acadamey in Colorado.

According to NASA:
"The Basic requirements for an Astronaut Pilot include the following:

1. Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution in engineering, biological science, physical science, or mathematics. An advanced degree is desirable. Quality of academic preparation is important.

2. At least 1,000 hours pilot-in-command time in jet aircraft. Flight test experience is highly desirable.

3. Ability to pass a NASA space physical which is similar to a military or civilian flight physical and includes the following specific standards:
Distant visual acuity: 20/100 or better uncorrected, correctable to 20/20 each eye.
Blood pressure: 140/90 measured in a sitting position.
Height between 64 and 76 inches. "

Pure math won't cut it you need to have a field of applied math like physics, astrophysics, engineering etc.

Again, according to NASA:
"Mission specialists are trained in the details of the onboard systems, as well as the operational characteristics, mission requirements/ objectives, and supporting equipment/systems for each of the experiments conducted on their assigned missions. Mission specialists perform extravehicular activities (EVAs), or space walks, operate the remote manipulator system, and are responsible for payloads and specific experiment operations."

That means you need a science field that will let you run a current experiment or a new experiment. So if you wanted to study the effects of the zero G environment then you could use a biology degree, or a medical degree or a zoological degree. You could study the effects on the biology of animals, the effects on the human body, or the effects on experimental animals.

According to this article: http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/070904_st_organ_stress.html
Zero-g has now been found to cause problems with the immune system of rats. They were taken into space and lifted up by the back legs several times; a stressful experience for rats. Then the rats were studied back on earth. So if you want to look at that then you know the degrees you need to go with.

You need at least 1,000 hours in a jet that is commanded by a pilot. This doesn't mean a commercial jet, unless you are a pilot, first officer, or engineer. The only way you are going to get into jets is through the military. Females can't currently be fighter pilots, but they can fly cargo jets and other plans. So the advice to go to the Air Force Academy is pretty good; of course that requires a nomination by a US senator. To get that nomination you must write one and give him some good reason why you would be a good candidate.

To be a jet pilot you don’t have to go to the Air Force Academy, anyone with a college degree can join the Air Force and try for pilot school. That could be a fast track road to becoming an astronaut.

•The University of Houston (http://www.uh.edu/academics/catalog/nsm/courses.html) offers these courses: Biology and Biochemistry
oBiochemistry (BCHS)
oBiology (BIOL)
• - Chemistry (CHEM)
• - Computer Science (COSC)
• - Environmental Systems and Modeling
oEnvironmental Sciences (ENVS)
• - Geosciences - Geology (GEOL)
• - Mathematics (MATH)
• - Physics (PHYS)

Of the Engineering degrees only the Mechanical or Biomedical degrees would do you any good.

Those should give you a pair of good leads. Go look at what NASA's requirements are, find a job where you will have a mission or experiment in space, and find a way to get flight time in a jet.

A weather scientist who studies hurricanes goes into some pretty rough weather and they do it in big aircraft, the kind that NASA would be interested in. Studying hurricanes from space can be done on earth, but studying the way they can be formed or the effects in the upper atmosphere can be done on the space station. Weather and hurricanes would fall under environmental degrees, which the University offers.

I would recommend mechanical engineering, because it is a very flexible degree that can apply to any way machines are used. My father was a safety engineer who worked for NASA and he had a mechanical engineering degree.

The University of Rice (http://www.rice.edu/catalog/2007_2008/) is a tougher school, but a degree from there would be more valuable to NASA you can check out the various departments here: http://www.rice.edu/catalog/2007_2008/departments.html. Since the first one on the list is Air Force Science I would look at that. If you join Air Force R.O.T.C. then you will become an Air Force officer and have a better chance of getting into the pilot program.

Answer 3

I remember reading that the late Jack Swiggart of Apollo 13 fame was an alumni of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy N.Y. and Buzz Aldrin did graduate work at M.I.T. but you should check the NASA bios of some of their present astronauts and see where they went to school. You're sure to find out something there. I would imagine that is would vary as to what kind of work you wanted to do as an astronaut. A pilot would obviously need an aviation background but I don't think that all astronauts are required to be a pilot these days.
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http://www11.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/
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Answer 4

My guess: Naval Academy Update: After checking the NASA web site, I found that astronauts have earned degrees at colleges and universities all over the country. From smaller schools such as the University of Dallas, UTEP, and the Florida Institute of Technology to the larger schools such as the Univ. of Illinois (various campuses), Univ. of Texas - Austin, and Texas A&M plus MANY other non-Ivy League schools. There are several with degrees from MIT, RPI, Harvard, Berkley, Purdue, Stanford, Norte Dame, et al. But, it appears that military schools have the most astronaut graduates. However, many of those are post gradaute (M.S. and Ph.D.) degrees. It seems that NASA is not concerned about where one graduates just as long as the candidate has the know-how and discipline they are looking for.

Answer 5

Any. It's the amount of education, and there are certain subjects to major in that are better than others, but there is no particular college you need to attend.

Answer 6

I also want to be an astronaut, my path is to got the AIR FORCE ACADEMY in aerospace engineering, but MIT or even the NAVY ACADEMY

Answer 7

USAF Academy

Answer 8

im sry no clue but i really love your question i wish you the most of luck go out an explore