Astronaut

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An astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft. While generally reserved for professional space travelers, the term is sometimes applied to anyone who travels into space, including scientists, politicians, journalists, and tourists.

Until 2003, astronauts were sponsored and trained exclusively by governments, either by the military, or by civilian space agencies. However, with the sub-orbital flight of the privately-funded SpaceShipOne in 2004, a new category of astronaut was created: the commercial astronaut.

For more information about Astronaut, read the full article at Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.

News tagged with astronauts

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Astronauts surprised by holiday turkey dinners

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Nov 26, 2009 | 5 / 5 (2) | 0

(AP) -- Space shuttle Atlantis' astronauts thought they were going to give thanks with pantry leftovers Thursday as their mission drew to a close, but found turkey dinners awaiting them.

US astronaut Timothy Creamer (L), Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kotov (C), and Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi (R)

Astronauts to taste 'space sushi'

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Dec 03, 2009 | 5 / 5 (1) | 0

US astronaut Timothy Creamer said on Thursday he was impatient to taste "space sushi" courtesy of his Japanese crewmate after they arrive on the International Space Station (ISS) later this month.

Space shuttle Atlantis, 7 astronauts back on Earth

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Nov 27, 2009 | 5 / 5 (2) | 0

Space shuttle Atlantis and its crew of seven astronauts ended an 11-day journey of nearly 4.5 million miles with a 9:44 a.m. EST landing Friday at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Thanksgiving last full day in space for shuttle

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Nov 26, 2009 | not rated yet | 0

(AP) -- Space shuttle Atlantis' astronauts will spend Thanksgiving checking their ship for the ride home.

Shuttle Atlantis leaves space station, headed home

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Nov 25, 2009 | 4 / 5 (1) | 0

(AP) -- Atlantis and its seven astronauts have left the International Space Station.

Shuttle, station crews seal hatches for departure

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Nov 24, 2009 | 5 / 5 (1) | 0

(AP) -- After nearly a week together, the crews of shuttle Atlantis and the International Space Station said goodbye Tuesday and closed the hatches between them.

Astronauts rest up after 3 spacewalks

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Nov 24, 2009 | 4 / 5 (1) | 0

(AP) -- The astronauts aboard the orbiting shuttle-station complex are resting after their three successful spacewalks.

Astronauts take spacewalk No. 3 after suit snag

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Nov 23, 2009 | 5 / 5 (1) | 0

(AP) -- A pair of astronauts stepped out on the third and final spacewalk of their shuttle mission Monday, helping to install an enormous oxygen tank at the International Space Station.