Astronaut Job Interview 2000 - Brian Mork (Increa) v3.1

Astronaut Job Interview 2000
© 2000-2008 by Brian Mork

Sometime in my childhood, I found a large model airplane in my parent's basement. It was absolutely fascinating that when I wiggled one aileron, the other one "way over on the other wing" moved the other way. I was hooked. After a lot of school, and military work, I applied to be an astronaut through the Air Force in 1993, 1995, and 1997. In 1998, I separated from the Active Duty military to the Reserves, and I applied in 1999 as a civilian. On January 27^th, 2000, I received a phone call from Teresa Gomez, of the NASA astronaut selection office, inviting me down for an astronaut interview the week of February 5^th through February 11^th. Although I made it into the last 120 of over 3000 applicants, I wasn't ultimately selected. In 2004, I sent in an application package, but wasn't invited for an interview. In 2008, I am again applying under the new USAJOBS/NASA application process. If you have nobody to look over your application package or prep you for the week of interviews, give me a call. After doing this for 15 years and talking with dozens of peers, and being friends with those that have both been accepted, and those that haven't, I'm convinced that simply understanding the process and removing the "bogeyman unknown" can really improve your chances and put you at ease.

NASA Interview Schedule

On the flight down to Texas, I met one other astronaut-looking fellow on the plane into town, and it turns out he was one of the interviewees I had spoken with on the phone ahead of time. We hit it off, and enjoyed the rest of the time throughout the week. Most people arrived at the hotel Saturday from about 2pm until after 10pm. If you have a chance, take an early flight. It's good to settle in and chat with other interviews as they come in. In the evening, those of us in the hotel contacted the local folks, and headed out for dinner to get to know each other. We left word at the front desk, and more people kept showing up at the restaurant as they arrived. The waitress handled the chaos with aplomb.

In preparation for the 2000 interview, and being familiar with military culture, I got a burr under my saddle to take on a certain "team building project". I had already been corresponding with one other person from the Midwest who received an invite for the same week. He managed to acquire a list of email addresses for everybody coming down for the interview week. I emailed or called everyone, explained the project, collected shirt sizes, and then ordered about 20 dark blue golf shirts and had "Ascan Interview 2000" embroidered on the front. I jammed them all into my suitcase and distributed them the first night we got together before the interview week started. It was kind of cool to all show up in matching shirts on Sunday. My only disappointment? As we were welcomed Sunday by John Young, he looked out at the sea of matching shirts, and said, "Nice looking shirts. One of the local candidates must have been busy." Yea... he assumed the project could have only been done by an applicant with local resources.

At 11am on Sunday the formal activities started, which started with a welcome brief, distribution of schedules, and other adminitrivia.

Risk assessment was interesting. Fighting in military combat gives 1:20000. Flying in space gives 1:300. Being an astronaut disqualifies you from most private life insurance.
New civilian astronauts earn GS-11,12 or 13 wages. Check this payscale if you think you'll get rich.
A 5-6 year delay before first flight points toward long careers, not brief interludes of excitement.
They're looking for more than engineers or operators (who Charlie Precourt, Chief of Astronaut Office, described as "making decisions you can't take back"). They want people who can be part of a crew that "makes irrevocable decisions work".

A typical page (Monday) of the schedule is reproduced here, with each row representing a different persons' schedule. Tuesday through Thursday are similar, but Friday has more open time. Many people will need the extra time to re-do medical tests.

Sunday afternoon was a 5-6 hour block of time set aside for psychological testing. Enectali Figueroa-Feliciano writes after his 2003 interview, “There is no one type of personality test. At the end they do not say "you are a type A" or "you are an ENTP". There is a LARGE number of questions you answer on Sunday and they use those as a baseline for your Psych interview which then generates a personality inventory of the candidate. Bottom line, be yourself. Don't try to guess what they want you to be. It's not so bad. They will try to figure out if you can be away from your family for long periods of time, if you have any phobias, or if you are a total jerk, if you can be part of a team, if you are confrontational, that sort of stuff. Basically, will you be a tolerable, workable person in orbit.”

Sunday morning just before heading out to the 11am meeting. Nigel and Nicole, where are you?! My wife and I had coordinated with others ahead of time to get matching dark blue polo shirts for everybody in the class. It looked really sharp, although I was disappointed when John Young made comments presuming it must have been the work of a local person.	Psychological testing Sunday afternoon. I remember 4 of the 10 scheduled cognitive (IQ) tests, which are scored only after a person is selected. Six personality tests from various vendors (1000-2000 total questions) served as a foundation for the 4 hour in person interview scheduled later in the week.	Bio kinematics testing chair. They took all sorts of body measurements and photographs. The main testing centered around multiple extender/retracter muscle pairs. They didn't look for strength, but rather repeatability and discontinuities in the force/position curves, indicative of injury.
Getting zipped up in the rescue sphere. The entire test is done in a room very similar to a meat locker (temperature and decor).	Inside the PRS, or "personal rescue sphere". For astronauts, a PRS is a way to get from a disabled station or shuttle to a rescue ship. For interviewees, it's a test of claustrophobia. [Word from 2003 is that the PRS is no longer used.]	Retinal pictures, peripheral vision mapping, timed acuity tests, corneal surface topography, etc, etc.
Checking those diopters with iris and lens muscles paralyzed using industrial grade eye drops.	Just prior to the treadmill test. 85% max heart rate is sufficient, but they won't tell you until you hit 100% (220-your age). When I asked "Why?", they pleasantly answered "Because it gives a chance to see more problems above 85%". Equipment monitors O₂ inflow, work output, and EKG. In addition to the treadmill, you'll have at least 3 other EKG hookups, including a 24-hour continuous recording. Blood pressure may be monitored, too, based on your spot-check readings. The shades are left over from a morning at the eye doc.	Lots of tours were given by astronauts. This Russian capsule is used for training. In addition to the tours themselves, you're expected to visit astronauts during free time in the schedule to get a feel for the "behind the scenes" job atmosphere.
Professional divers showed us around the NBL, or Neutral Bouyancy Lab. If you look carefully in the picture you can see a full-size space station mockup under water. The pool is actually longer than the picture shows -- more to the left and more to the right behind theobservation deck that blocked the upper right side of this picture.	We were lucky enough to make it into the viewing room of the Mission Control Center for the launch of STS-99 at 11:30 on Friday morning (those of us not redoing medical tests).	Nurse Mona and Dr. Hein with sixty centimeters of sigmoid proctoscopy fun! Most people "bottomed out" at about 55-58 cm, but a few had to get the graduate version of 100-200 cm. It's actually quite a technical marvel, if you're into such things. Picture credit goes to ____ ____ (Jeff, what is your friend's name?)

The psychological interview (during the week, after the Sunday marathon testing) was for four hours, with two parts. First, a historical look back at your life and experiences, to (I guess) piece together a picture of what's influenced your life. Secondly, a more diagnostic part where there are a number of programmed questions, and questions keyed off answers you gave on the written exams. These interviews have apparently knocked out 3 of the 120 people this cycle. My debriefer stressed they're not judging the quality of your personhood, but rather your compatibility with life as an astronaut (on the ground and in space).

There was a lot of variance in how the panel interviews played out for each person. The only common trend was the essay that had to be turned in just prior to your interview, and the opening prompt, typically "Tell us about your time in high school, and everything since then," and a total void of verbal and most non-verbal feedback. It seemed to be free form, keyed from what you present. The panel will silently listen, or interrupt to ask questions, or ask more questions if you finish before your time is up. Some panel members were active, others were passive. Somewhere they will ask a few technical questions just to probe the depth of your technical schooling or work. Enectali Figueroa-Feliciano (2003) added, “There IS a dress code for the interview: Business attire. Most people took that to mean a suit. I would have felt under-dressed without one. Most of the board members where wearing suits or coat and tie. The rest of the week is casual.”

Medical issues (psychological and physical, I believe) have taken out about 25% of the people interviewed this time. Heart murmurs. Torn retinas. Blood pressure. Blood profiles. Mostly unexpected stuff 'cause they would have already screened you out if they knew about it before hand. I wonder if a person can get cheaper life insurance after making it through this?!

Enectali Figueroa-Feliciano's impressions, during a September 2003 interview:

OK, about the week. You know, there is not that much to add than what Brian Mork put in his web page. That really is a good overview. Think of it as a week-long testing barrage, a one-hour interview, and a chance to meet some really awesome people. By Tuesday you feel like you've been there for a month. Then by Friday you are wondering how it went by so quickly. The testing is just that. You show up, you get tested, you move on to the next one. The nurses and doctors are very nice and are not trying to judge you. So just enjoy the special treatment and go with it. Be mindful of the dietary restrictions: Can't eat this or that the day before the Procto, you need to fast before the sonogram, you need to eat before the treadmill. The week gets tiring. One of the interviewees fell asleep in the Shuttle Motion Simulator's seat while we were getting our tour! I would fall asleep in the bus while getting shuttled between medical appointments. But man is it fun. You are there among astronauts, and get treated as one. Go talk to astronauts when you have time off (which is not very often). E-mail the ones that you'd really like to talk to the week before you go and try to set up appointments with them as soon as you get your schedule. When you go to 4S (the astronaut offices), go talk to Erlinda and the other astronaut schedulers. They know every one and will be able to get you talking to an astronaut very quickly. Ask them for a copy of the layout of the offices, that way you will be able to find out where so-and-so's office is quickly. Be yourself! That is all they are looking for. Ask them questions about what it's like, what they miss, what they enjoy the most.

The interview starts with you nervously pacing an adjoining room, while waiting for Duane to come get you. When they are ready, Duane comes and picks up your essay. He goes and reads it outloud to the board, and then comes and gets you. They all rise when you come in the room, and sit down when you sit down. You don't shake hands with them (too much time). Then Bob Cabana says "You know how this goes. Why don't you tell us about yourself since highschool up to now." And off you go. Don't memorize what you'll say, but it will help to make an outline before hand. Be yourself. They will ask questions. It was fairly interactive for me. They are very energetic, and I think many of them have not done this before. Think of what it is like for them to be on the other side of the process! The hour goes by much faster than you'd think. As soon as you come out you'll think of 100 things you could've said differently. Don't.

On Thursday you go to Pete's for a social event, which is part two of the interview. That was a lot of fun, you get to interact with the board members on an individual basis and talk to other astronauts. Try the cajun potatoes, they are so good! There's beer and soft drinks, and everyone stands around and talks. We got a speech from Bob Cabana, Kent Rominger, and John Young. It was a good send off. Friday, you will be running around trying to get last minute tests done, and won't have time to say goodbye to folks.

The other interviewees were the best part of the week. Wow. Any one of them would make great astronauts. The educator astronauts were great. I think It will be hard selecting just 2 or 3 from each interview group. The astronaut board members stressed over and over again that you should keep at it, that if you don't get in this time you might get in next time. I will take that advice to heart.

Derek “Deke” Green wrote about his November 2003 interview:

I just returned from week 5 interview. It was probably one of the most tiring weeks I have experienced in a while....but it was FUN! Our group was made up of 19 interviewees. We had 2 pilots, seven MSs and 10 Educator -Astronauts (EA). I was the token Air Force rep. It was a very comfortable group of people. In fact, we were told by several observers that our group was probably the most personable and close-knit groups they have seen this cycle. I made relationships that will last a lifetime.

The employees are great and you get a bunch of input from the other astronauts (by the way the 2000 class is READY for "New Guys" smile ). The folks at the Astronaut Selection Office are all very nice. Duane, Teresa, Dawn and Holly are absolutely wonderful. We really could not have gotten through it without them. They leave nothing to the imagination and they make sure you are fully informed on all aspects of the week. For example, they know all the approved places to eat before your procto...and will make sure you do not eat whatever and whenever you are not supposed to....you can see what was important to me during the week. Smile. Once you get there you will see, it will be to you too! If you can imagine the delicate ballet they have to choreograph to get all of us scheduled and completed for all of our "stuff", you know the task they have before them. In addition, whenever one of us called they shuttled us to every location. I don't think anybody ever arrived late! Most importantly, they made it a point to keep each one of us calm before our interviews.

The reports you have heard about the medical staff is true. They are all very professional and really very comforting. Some are even hilarious! Yes, even the procto staff (smile). In short, Brian Mork's web site is still the definitive source of info except that they do not do the rescue sphere test any more. Also, I was told by some of the astronauts there that we started earlier on Sunday (9:00) than they did and the psychological tests seem longer for our group.

The educator astronaut program is very impressive. As I said, in my group there were 10 Educator -Astronauts (EA). All these people were fascinating and just plain good folks. NASA has sunk major dollars into it and have allocated the resources to support this program. The organization is definitely committed to making it work. I was very impressed. One more thing, I am more convinced after spending the week there that it is where I want to work! When you consider all the factors it still beats working for a living.

As you can see from my experience, and others, it certainly is a good time! If you have any specific questions, feel free to email me. You also might want to subscribe to the Astronaut Hopefuls (AsHos) mailing list.

This page is maintained by Brian Mork. It was last modified June 2008. Suggestions for changes and comments are always welcome. The easiest way is to contact me via e-mail.