Astronaut
An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a List of human spaceflight programs, human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member of a spa ...
s hold a variety of ranks and positions. Each of these roles carries responsibilities that are essential to the operation of a spacecraft. A spacecraft's cockpit, filled with sophisticated equipment, requires skills differing from those used to manage the scientific equipment on board, and so on.
NASA ranks and positions
Ranks
Members of the
NASA Astronaut Corps
The NASA Astronaut Corps is a unit of the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) that selects, trains, and provides astronauts as crew members for U.S. and international space missions. It is based at Johnson Space Ce ...
hold one of two ranks. Astronaut Candidate is the rank of those training to be NASA astronauts.
Upon graduation from training, candidates are promoted to Astronaut and receive their
Astronaut Pin. The pin is issued in two grades, silver and gold, with the silver pin awarded to candidates who have successfully completed astronaut training and the gold pin to astronauts who have flown in space.
Chief of the Astronaut Office is a position, not a rank.
Positions
Roscosmos and Soviet space program ranks and positions
Ranks
Cosmonauts are professional space travellers from Russia. After initial training, cosmonauts are assigned as either a test cosmonaut () or a research cosmonaut (). A test cosmonaut has a more difficult preparation than a research cosmonaut and can serve as the commander or the flight engineer of a spacecraft, while a research cosmonaut cannot.
Higher ranks include pilot cosmonaut, test cosmonaut instructor, and research cosmonaut instructor.
Pilot-Cosmonaut of the Russian Federation
The Honorary Title Pilot-Cosmonaut of the Russian Federation () is a state award of the Russian Federation presented to all cosmonauts who fly for the Russian Federal Space Agency. Usually accompanying the distinction is the title of Hero of th ...
is a title that is presented to all cosmonauts who fly for the Russian space program.
Positions
China National Space Administration positions
Ranks
Similarly to NASA, members of the China National Space Administration (CNSA) hold one of two ranks. Astronaut Candidate is the rank of those training to be CNSA astronauts. Upon graduation, candidates are promoted to Astronaut.
The positions of Spacecraft Pilot, Flight Engineer, and Mission Payload Specialist were listed in the announcement for the Group 3 selection.
Positions
International Space Station positions
See also
*
NASA Astronaut Groups – the phases of astronaut selection
Notes
References
External links
Shuttle Commander and Pilot definitionsShuttle PLC, MS, and PS definitions
{{Chinese space program
Outer space lists
Ranks
Awards and decorations of NASA