How to Become an Astronaut: Requirements, Training & Selection | SPACETIME Full Documentary

Who actually gets to go to space—and how do you qualify?
In this SPACETIME special, astronaut Prof. Ulrich Walter breaks down the real path to the astronaut corps: education & skills, medical and psychological standards, team selection, survival training, and mission preparation—plus what the job really demands day to day.

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What You’ll See

Eligibility & degrees: STEM pathways, pilots vs mission specialists, language skills

Selection phases: applications, screening, interviews, group exercises & sims

Medical & psych standards: vision, fitness, resilience, teamwork under stress

Core training: spacecraft systems, EVA practice, robotics & science ops

Environments: neutral buoyancy lab, centrifuge, wilderness/survival drills

Mission prep: procedures, checklists, emergency response & crew cohesion

Agency & commercial paths: NASA/ESA/JAXA/CSA vs. private astronaut roles

Career reality: timelines, risks, lifestyle—and why people still choose it

Chapters
0:00 The Dream vs The Job
2:45 Who’s Eligible? Degrees, Skills & Roles
6:30 How Selection Works: From Paper to Panels
10:20 Medical, Fitness & Psychological Screening
14:05 Core Training: Systems, Robotics & Science
18:30 EVA & Neutral Buoyancy: Practicing Spacewalks
22:15 Survival, Teamwork & Simulation Campaigns
26:00 Agency vs Commercial Astronaut Pathways
29:10 The Lifestyle: Risks, Rewards & Purpose

Details & Keywords
SPACETIME Science Show, Ulrich Walter, how to become an astronaut, astronaut requirements, astronaut training, astronaut selection, NASA, ESA, JAXA, CSA, commercial astronaut, private astronaut, EVA training, neutral buoyancy, survival training, spacecraft systems, space career, space jobs, space documentary

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