What questions would you expect to be asked if you were interviewing to be an astronaut?

October 16, 2008 5:58 PM

What questions would you expect to be asked if you were interviewing to be an astronaut?

Seriously. Say you had a friend who had a 1 in 50 chance of being offered a job as an astronaut. Aside from the standard "what is your biggest flaw" stuff, what would you ask him/her to help with prep for the interview?

posted by worstkidever to work & money (10 comments total)

I think the interview would be more along the lines of many tests. Mental stability, physical stamina, science knowledge, reactions under pressure, etc. I envision something along the lines of the method in "The Right Stuff". Depending on her job within the team that goes up, they would ask specific things relevant. For example, if your friend was going to be in charge of the science experiments, they would ask what experiments was she interested in and why type stuff.

Mostly though I do not think it would be an interview like you picture one for a regular office job. I think it would be a series of different tests over time. I think your friend would have to demonstrate how making them part of the astronaut program would be value added to the program.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 7:23 PM on October 16, 2008

"Where do you see yourself in 5 years" is going to be a fun one.
posted by soma lkzx at 7:26 PM on October 16, 2008

"How many hundred hours do you have piloting fighter jets?"
"What subject is your Ph.D in?"

These days astronauts are either ex-fighter-jet-pilots or scientists -- or they're trophies, people being sent up for publicity reasons.
posted by Class Goat at 7:31 PM on October 16, 2008

"How well can you handle being cooped up in a small space with the same five people for up to a year at a time?"
posted by turgid dahlia at 8:32 PM on October 16, 2008

how long can you hold your breath?
posted by phredgreen at 9:06 PM on October 16, 2008

My family is actually in this field. My sister was steering for it years ago. She dropped out to work at Intel and wound up contributing to the engineering of the i586 (original Pentium) chip.

I work with kids who want to be live in space, second-gen astronauts called, ahem, humannaires. Subsequently, I get to hang with astronauts. (For instance, at the International Symposium for Personal and Commercial Spaceflight later this month in Las Cruces, New Mexico.)

Since your question leads me to believe you are talking about working for one of the "new space" companies such as Virgin Galactic, Blue Origin, or SpaceX, the questions to be fielded during any interview process are only going to supplement what is already known about the candidate. Obviously, any serious contender has an extensive CV heavy on experimental aircraft and/or a ridiculous amount of flight time in jet aircraft

But what I have seen in common among all astronauts—old space (NASA) and new—is a sense of "can-do" certainty and casual infallibility. There are real larger-than-life qualities present in astronauts and space pilots. My impression is that this has to do with the specialized focus and ability to be constantly present obviously particularly necessary for space flight.

Therefore, in reply to your query, I am certain that answers given are already expected to be correct. This is what is expected of such professionals. What would in fact be being gauged then is how the question is heard and how it is replied to. What is being sought are top candidates who are right here now when called upon. That's it.

I repeat, interviews for such positions automatically guarantee that candidates possess the technical proficiency and necessary skill sets to take on the job. Astronaut interview questions are posed merely/specifically for the interviewers to observe how the candidatea answer.
posted by humannaire at 9:20 PM on October 16, 2008 [1 favorite]

Are you willing to risk your life for the advancement of science? Are you willing to die for human advancement, to leave your family, to admit that you are but a tiny particle of dust in the vast universe? If you get even more excited about being an astronaut after answering these questions than you were before, then I say you're hired.
posted by junipero at 10:03 PM on October 16, 2008

Do you have a photographic memory?
Are you allergic to venomous spider bites?
Do you have an identical twin?
posted by codswallop at 11:16 PM on October 16, 2008

I wouldn't be entirely surprised by questions related to media/PR experience - an astronaut that they have to keep away from the cameras, vs one that gives great PR, might not be insignificant depending on how much national or corporate pride was being invested in the program, and how much media attention they were aiming for.
posted by -harlequin- at 12:45 AM on October 17, 2008

Thanks for the suggestions. We were really having a cram session last night, for an actual verbal interview. It was for an open position at an actual space agency. Believe it or not, NASA and other countries space agencies put out the occasional "help wanted" ad for astronauts. Given that there are a larger number of missions than astronauts, I'm guessing the line of questioning will have as much to do with how you will handle yourself here on earth, as whether you are ready to go into space.

I think humannaire has the right idea in that this round of the application process will be like most other challenging job interviews: posing behavioral oriented questions, and seeing whether the candidate sticks the landing, or sends up red flags.
posted by worstkidever at 3:29 PM on October 17, 2008