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Space Tourist Standards
Snuffleupagus writes: "I found an interesting story at cnn.com about NASA's new standards for civilian space travel. It looks like if you have a history of drinking, lying and cheating you won't be going into space anytime soon, no matter how much money you have. Looks like I'll be stuck here on Earth for awhile." The guidelines for future space tourists are on NASA's site.
somehow I don't think the russians will care.
Of course if I say to NASA "I'll give you a billion dollars to send me into space, I have a funny feeling they wouldn't care much either.
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It looks like if you have a history of drinking, lying and cheating you won't be going into space anytime soon, no matter how much money you have.
That kills the potential CEO and politician markets...
I'm much funnier now that I'm a subscriber.
No space for you!
This applies just to the space station, it seems, not to space in general. The thing to remember is that NASA has no real authority over space -- It's just space, it doesn't belong to anyone. They *do* have authority, however, over the facilities that we put into space, so they get to call the shots on the space station.
Technical Writer?
These are the kind of rules that will never change
Come on. By the time you and I get into space (if we aren't too old), these rules will be changed over 100 times. Think about it.
Good quote, too many chars. Seriously, the slashdot 120 char limit sucks!
Uh, yeah, we wouldn't want to have anyone who uses "intoxicating beverages to excess" to be on a space station with a bunch of Russians.
Congress may hold funding for NASA until there is an exception made for them.
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Subject line says it all, really.
Commercial spacelines wouldn't be using NASA facilities anyway; they're too expensive.
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Other disqualifying traits: criminal, dishonest, infamous or notoriously disgraceful conduct; intentional false statement or fraud; habitual use of intoxicating beverages to excess; abuse of narcotics, drugs or other controlled substances; and....*drum roll please*.......
membership or sponsorship in organizations which adversely affect the public's confidence in the space station or its partners.
We have been saying for years that NASA is screwy...guess none of us will get to go.
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"membership or sponsorship in organizations which adversely affect the public's confidence in the space station or its partners."
Does that mean that a millionaire with a passion for space might be banned for... say... being a member of Greenpeace, because they might think badly of McDonell Douglas for its role as an arms manufacturer?
Maybe I'm being overly alarmist, but the implications that this clause can diqualify anyone who is even loosely related to anyone that does not wholeheartedly support large corporate power is a little disconcerting.
There are a thousand forms of subversion, but few can equal the convenience and immediacy of a cream pie -Noel Godin
So, how about membership in the National Rifle Association? Veterans of Foreign Wars? Republican Party? Roman Catholic Church?
If you've ever publicly criticised NASA, you're SOL.
I mean, this single paragraph allows them to deny you for any or no reason at all.
668: Neighbour of the Beast
Rules out Bush too on all three counts. (And also Clinton (for the cheating))
development.lombardi.com
It looks like if you have a history of drinking, lying and cheating you won't be going into space anytime soon. Unless you're a celebrity or stinkin' rich, of course. And if you're both you might as well be strapped into that cockpot right now. If, to pick a name at random, Michael Jackson wanted to go into orbit, can you imagine NASA saying NO to the publicity? I can't. (although there is something to be said for the possibility of the National Enquirer headline of "NASA Refuses to Launch Well-Known alien Back into Space!" Bad Publicity as a front-page spread is a good thing) --Triv
If you have a history of lying, drinking, and cheating... then you'll probably come up with a way to fool NASA into believing you're a wholesome person!
~ now you know
I wonder how much additional money it would generate if the govt had a "lottery" for space travel instead of a you-pay-you-go type thing. I bet they could work it out to generate alot more money per space tourist that way, while giving us ordinary citizens a chance to go.
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if you have a history of drinking, lying and cheating
I'm gonna stake my claim on the boolean "and". I haven't cheated anyone.
At least from what you pick up from "The Right Stuff" drinkin' and driving was an admired ability amongst the eary crews. Not a very good role model tho, not at all.
try { do() || do_not(); } catch (JediException err) { yoda(err); }
They look up your police records and military records, interview you, and some of your (earlier) employers, family, and so on, to try to determine if you are a responsible person. If you aren't, then they won't risk the lives of other astronauts, important space research, huge amounts of money, etc, just to get you into space.
This is nothing but common sence. You shouldn't trust untrustworthy people. I fail to see the logic behind allowing Osama bin Laden on the space shuttle just because he has enough money.
These aren't just NASA standards, they were agreed on with the international partners. See the Washington Post's article: "More than two years in the making, the criteria allow Russia, the United States, Canada, Japan or the European Space Agency to select station visitors."
I skimmed over the guidelines for selection in this document and they interestingly look VERY similar to the guidelines for a fed security clearance. (including those about drinking and moral misconduct, which I think are there to prevent blackmail being used to get classified information out of you) ie, if you are working at a military contractor, etc. I wonder if there's any correlation?