NASA receives 18,300 applications for a handful of astronauts of the future

NASA is on a recruitment mission and has received a total of 18,300 applications from Americans of various backgrounds - the numbers have smashed the previous record of 8,000 set back in 1978, and is almost three times the number of applications received in 2012 when the space agency last put out the call.
This has been reported in digitaltrends.com dated 22 February 2016.

The window for applications had remained open for nine weeks before closing last Thursday and it will now be an 18-month process through which NASA will identify between eight and fourteen highly competent candidates to undertake assignments of an astronaut.
Beginning 2017, the final selection of hopefuls will have to undergo nearly two years of initial training on spacecraft systems, spacewalking skills and teamwork, Russian language, and other requisite skills. Those who complete the training program will be given technical duties at Johnson Space Center in Houston.
Later thy would be assigned to either the International Space Station, NASA’s Orion spacecraft for deep space exploration (Orion’s first manned space flight beyond the moon could happen in 2023), or one of two American-made commercial crew spacecraft currently in development – Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner or the SpaceX Crew Dragon.
It is expected that a few of these talented men and women will become the astronauts who will once again launch to space from U.S. soil on American-made spacecraft. Right now with the retirement of the Space Shuttle fleet five years ago, NASA has to rely on Russian rockets to get its astronauts into space. The U.S. is now getting ready to return to the fold with manned launches from home soil.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

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Following the Hurricane Patricia striking Mexico and heading towards Huston, heavy rains are triggering flash flood warnings and tornado watches in the US state of Texas. The hurricane, the most powerful one ever measured, was downgraded to a tropical depression. But, it could still dump up to 8 to 12 inches of rain.
This has been reported in ibnlive.com dated 25 October 2015.

A voluntary evacuation call for the Bolivar Peninsula and the closure of underwater roadways in Houston because Houston leaders have warned that the area's bayous can take care of about five additional inches and the situation was not favorable.
Houston Mayor Annise Parker has indicated that there could be localized flooding in Houston, primarily street flooding in Houston and Harris County, because of the terrain.
This rainfall was the second time in five months that severe weather has pounded Texas. In May, a series of storms had triggered floods and led to 21 deaths. That prompted President Barack Obama to declare parts of the state as disaster areas.
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)


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