Prepare for Launch: The Astronaut Training Process (Springer Praxis Books / Space Exploration) [Paperback]

Erik Seedhouse (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 13, 2010 | ISBN-10: 1441913491 | ISBN-13: 978-1441913494 | Edition: 1st Edition.

Today's astronauts require many different abilities. They must not only be expert in performing flight simulations but must also be proficient in such dissimilar subjects as photography, thermodynamics, electrical repairs, flight procedures, oceanography, public affairs, and geology. In Prepare for Launch, the author introduces the technologies and myriad activities that constitute or affect astronaut training, such as the part-task trainers, emergency procedures, the fixed-based and motion-based simulators, virtual environment training, and the demands of training in the Weightless Environment Training Facility. With plans to return to the Moon and future missions to Mars, the current selection criteria and training are very different from those used for short duration mission Space Shuttle crews. Dr. Erik Seedhouse in this book focuses on how astronaut candidates are taught to cope with different needs and environments (for example, hibernation, artificial gravity, and bioethics issues) and also includes brief discussions of the astronaut application and selection process.

Editorial Reviews

Review

From the reviews:

“In Prepare for Launch you can read a detailed and thorough account written by someone who tried very hard to change his astronaut dream into a reality. Seedhouse’s book contains the nuts and bolts of astronaut training in North America and Europe. … He leads us step by step through the protracted process of becoming an astronaut. … Seedhouse has written an intriguing account of the training process, and his book is a joy to read.” (Carole Stott, The Observatory, Vol. 131 (1221), April, 2011)

From the Back Cover

To be an astronaut is the dream of thousands of young - and not so young - people. But is the life as glamorous as we think it is? First, each applicant must navigate a protracted application and selection process, submit to lengthy medicals, take dozens of aptitude tests, and face an interview panel. If successful, the wannabe spacefarer is then subjected to a guantlet of instruction. From being strapped into centrifuges to experiencing microgravity onboard NASA's aptly named 'vomit comet,' the astronaut candidate's (Ascan) trainging is as relentless as it is arduous. In addtion to covering more than two hundred classroom subjects, as Ascan will complete over fifteen hundred hours of instruction, including training in high-performance jets, sea survival, emergency evacuation preparation, and surgery in microgravity. Prepare for Launch provides a unique insight into the astronaut application, selection, and training process. It chronicles the intense, highly technical and sophisticated training necessary to forge a flight crew capable of responding to any conceivable emergency and capable of expertly executing hundreds of mission tasks. This book uniquely explores the preparation required to apply and train for the most challenging and demanding job in the world.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 250 pages
• Publisher: Praxis; 1st Edition. edition (April 13, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1441913491
• ISBN-13: 978-1441913494
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #517,742 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Erik Seedhouse is an aerospace scientist whose ambition has always been to work as an astronaut. After completing his first degree in Sports Science at Northumbria University the author joined the legendary 2nd Battalion the Parachute Regiment, the world's most elite airborne regiment. During his time in the 'Para's' Erik spent six months in Belize, where he was trained in the art of jungle warfare and conducted several border patrols along the Belize-Guatemala border. Later, he spent several months learning the intricacies of desert warfare on the Akamas Range in Cyprus. He made more than thirty jumps from a Hercules C130 aircraft, performed more than two hundred abseils from a helicopter and fired more light anti-tank weapons than he cares to remember!

Upon returning to the comparatively mundane world of academia, the author embarked upon a Master's degree in Medical Science at Sheffield University. He supported his master's degree studies by winning prize money in 100km ultradistance running races. Shortly after placing third in the World 100km Championships in 1992 and setting the North American 100km record, the author turned to ultradistance triathlon, winning the World Endurance Triathlon Championships in 1995 and 1996. For good measure, he also won the inaugural World Double Ironman Championships in 1995 and the infamous Decatriathlon, the world's longest triathlon, an event requiring competitors to swim 38km, cycle 1800km, and run 422km. Non-stop!

Returning to academia once again in 1996, Erik pursued his Ph.D. at the German Space Agency's Institute for Space Medicine. While conducting his Ph.D studies he still found time to win Ultraman Hawaii and the European Ultraman Championships as well as completing the Race Across America bike race. Due to his success as the world's leading ultradistance triathlete Erik was featured in dozens of magazines and television interviews. In 1997, GQ magazine nominated him as the 'Fittest Man in the World'.

In 1999, Erik decided it was time to get a real job. He retired from being a professional triathlete and started his post-doctoral studies at Vancouver's Simon Fraser University's School of Kinesiology. While living in Vancouver, Erik gained his pilot's license, started climbing mountains and took up sky-diving to relax in his spare time. In 2005 the author worked as an astronaut training consultant for Bigelow Aerospace in Las Vegas and wrote 'Tourists in Space', a training manual for spaceflight participants. He is a Fellow of the British Interplanetary Society and a member of the Aerospace Medical Association. Recently, he was one of the final thirty candidates of the Canadian Space Agency's Astronaut Recruitment Campaign. Erik currently works as manned spaceflight consultant and author. He plans to travel into space with one of the private spaceflight companies. As well as being a triathlete, skydiver, pilot and author, Erik is an avid scuba diver and has logged more than two hundred dives in more than twenty countries. His favorite movie is the director's cut of 'Blade Runner', his favorite science fiction authors are Allen Steele and Stanislav Lem and his favorite science fiction series is Red Dwarf. 'Prepare for Launch' is his fifth book. When not writing, he spends as much time as possible in Kona on the Big Island of Hawaii and at his real home in Sandefjord, Norway. Erik lives with his wife and two cats on the Niagara Escarpment in Canada.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tha Astronaut Training Process tp Prepare for Launch, October 16, 2010

By 

Rocket Scientist "Chuck" (Louisiana, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Prepare for Launch: The Astronaut Training Process (Springer Praxis Books / Space Exploration) (Paperback)

I am truly amazed at what a contemporary Astronaut has to learn and know. Bioethics! Wow! This training must take years. Today's Astronaut has to know everything about his space craft and how to fix things that go amiss. Their lives depend on this knowledge.

They need the knowledge for at least three degrees. This training is tough. I know several guys who applied and were not accepted.

It was their eyesight. They were so disappointed.

This training has a good reason: the more you know, the safer you are. I worked on Apollo and compared to this, our Astronauts did not have much training because there were so many things we didn't know. Our Apollo Astronauts really paved the way.

I applaud this book. Not only is it interesting, it has great information.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Everything you need to know about becoming an astronaut, March 17, 2010

By 

TerminalReality (Vancouver, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Prepare for Launch: The Astronaut Training Process (Springer Praxis Books / Space Exploration) (Paperback)

As a Canadian astronaut candidate, Seedhouse provides a unique insight into the application, selection, and training processes of astronauts. This excellent book also describes the dramatic changes in astronaut training required for the ambitious multi-year missions planned to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.

Today's astronauts must be proficient in several skill-sets. They must not only be expert in performing flight simulations but must also be skilled in subjects ranging from thermodynamics and electrical repairs to flight procedures and oceanography. In Prepare for Launch, the author describes the technologies and myriad activities that comprise astronaut training, such as the part-task trainers, emergency procedures and the demands of training in the Weightless Environment Training Facility. With plans to return to the Moon and future missions to Mars, the current selection criteria and training are very different from those used for short duration mission Space Shuttle crews. Dr. Seedhouse also peers into the future and deals with issues such as hibernation and artificial gravity before addressing the thorny topic that no-one at NASA mentions: bioethics.

If you're ever wondered how astronauts are selected and trained, this is the book for you. Another excellent and entertaining read from an engaging and prolific author.