Apr 2 1979
From The Space Library
NASA reported that 35 candidates for Space Shuttle astronaut had completed classroom instruction and moved into engineering assignments at JSC. The courses had begun in July 1978, and the successful candidates would become astronauts in July 1980. NASA had brought in personnel from other NASA centers and from universities to conduct courses on subjects such as space physics, ascent and reentry aerodynamics, spaceflight physiology, and tracking techniques; veteran astronauts had lectured on the budget process, people, and requirements in the space program and on being a CAPCOM (capsule communicator). Videotapes of the classes would be available to all employees at JSC.
The first crews selected for Shuttle flights had begun lessons in the mission simulator, and the astronaut candidates would be observers. Lessons would include tests of every sort of emergency the crews might encounter during a mission, supervised by instructors who had spent six months learning how to harass the astronauts in their simulator exercises. The lesson plan, scheduled to take nine months "not counting ... problems," would prepare the crews for nearly any emergency, NASA said. (NASA Release 79-34; JSC Release 79-20)
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