So You Want to Be an Astronaut
Part I: The Application
There’s an application just to get an application. I had to fill out what NASA calls an application interest form, which is an information card much like the kind of card you fill out and send in for a magazine subscription. I got the card at the Johnson Space Center in Houston last summer. The space center is a sixteen-hundred-acre compound filled with lush grass and cream-colored buildings of different shapes and sizes. Satellite dishes bloom like flowers throughout the compound, and the only buildings open to the public are a museum, the rocket park, and mission control. After climbing through a mock-up of the space shuttle, pretending to be Sally Ride, I passed by an information kiosk and the application interest form caught my eye. I grabbed one and stuck it into my Space Center museum guide, forgetting about it until months later when I filled it out and mailed it in.
Just a few weeks ago my application arrived. It’s a twenty-five page affair with a glittering blue and silver cover that has a picture of the space shuttle on it. I removed the cover and tacked it up on my bulletin board next to a postcard of Charles Lindbergh standing in front of The Spirit of St. Louis. Twenty-five pages. Becoming an astronaut is more difficult than applying to Harvard Medical School. More difficult than doing your taxes. Probably even more difficult than running for the senate. Now, I can’t be an astronaut because I have absolutely no interest in math, science, engineering, medicine, or astrophysics. I dabble in astronomy, but they don’t send you up in the space shuttle because you think it would be neat. However, it’s important to always have an impossible dream. It keeps you humble. This is my impossible dream. So, I read through the application.
Why do you want to be an astronaut?
I love the audaciousness of the space program. Here we are, little animals trying to jump off our planet.
How have your past accomplishments or experiences prepared you to be an astronaut?
When I visited the Johnson Space Center in Houston I tried on a space helmet. It fit. The boots were another story but I can wear many layers of socks.
In January 1965, Caputo, now an officer, is sent to Okinawa, Japan with men in the Third Marine Division. While waiting for the call to join the war, the young men start getting antsy and discouraged by the long delay of battle. Two months later, on March 7, 1965, Caputo’s company, along with many others, are assigned to a war location, D...
On December 7th 1941, Japanese Planes and submarines attacked the United States Naval base at Pearl Harbor. This event singlehandedly brought the U.S from its then neutral stance in World War Two to a fighting member of the “Allied Powers.” Pearl Harbor was the first of a long series of confrontations between the U.S and the Japanese in an effort to gain control of the Pacific. Unlike the “War in Europe” the Pacific strategy was dominated by naval and aerial battles, with the occasional land-based “Island Hopping” Campaign. As such, one of the most important factors in the war in the pacific was Fleet Size, the more ships a country could send to war, the better. Pearl Harbor was the Japanese’s way of trying to deal with the massive U.S Pacific fleet. However, Pearl Harbor was not the turning point of the war. After December 7th the United States began work on numerous technological developments which would ultimately help them in one of the most important battles of WWII, the largest naval confrontation of the war, The Battle of Midway. The battle, which took place from June 4th to June 7th , 1942 is widely considered the turning point of the Pacific Theater (James & Wells). Through the Post-Pearl Harbor desire for “Revenge” and various technological advantages including code breaking and radar, the U.S were able to outsmart the Japanese at Midway and ultimately win the battle, eventually leading to a victory in the Pacific.
Last and biggest of the Pacific island battles of World War II, the Okinawa campaign (April 1—June 22, 1945) involved the 287,000 troops of the U.S. Tenth Army against 130,000 soldiers of the Japanese Thirty-second Army. At stake were air bases vital to the projected invasion of Japan ("Battle of Okinawa," 1996). The Battle of Okinawa remembered more for its iconic photograph of US Marines raising the US flag on Okinawa more so than any other war or battle ever fought. Okinawa the largest of the Ryukus islands played a major role in the American forces overall strategic efforts to advance to the mainland’s of Japan. Because it was the last major battle of WWII, the battle of Okinawa used lessons learned and TTP’s from all previous battles with the Japanese to successfully employ combined striking power of the services and techniques of amphibious operations.
In the spring of 1945, the plans for the invasion of the Japanese home islands, code-named “Operation Downfall” were being drawn up. It was to be the largest operation of the war (Skates, 1994, P. 4), involving up to 39 divi...
If you were to look back at WWI, you would see that there were direct and indirect causes to the war. The assassination of Archduke Ferdinand was an immediate cause. Gavrilo Princip, working with a Serbian anti-Austrian secret society called “The Black Hand” shot Archduke Ferdinand on June 28, 1914 in order to make way for a Slavic revolution. The assassination didn’t do as Princip hoped, and it was used as an excuse for Austria to take hostile action against Serbia. That was not the only cause of the war.
numerous diseases in mammals, all of which target the brain specifically. Also note that all prion-based
In 1914 one of the most important wars in history broke out. The spark that set off World War One was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Serbia by a Serbian nationalist/terrorist. He was assassinated on June 28, 1914. The main causes of Europe leading to this war actually stand for the word M.A.I.N the causes are Alliances, Militarism, Imperialism, and Nationalism. These four things made such an impact of going to war. The assassination of Archduke Ferdinand caused a system of alliances to kick in, and all the major powers of Europe divided into two camps, the Triple Alliance and the Triple Entente. His assassination was the main cause of World War One.
...shijima, a Japanese commander, initiated a huge assault to back up his threat that resulted in nearly 5,000 Japanese casualties and stalemates. Kamikazes continued to pound the U.S. Navy causing them to question a potential victory. All war was in turmoil, but miraculously the Marines began to gradually crack away at the powerful Japanese defense. Before too long the Japanese were becoming desperate as the U.S. began to win. The victory on Okinawa left Japan devastated, and their military weak and tired. The battle of Okinawa cost the Americans greatly, but the “never give up” attitude that they all possessed helped them overcome all the odds against them and come out victorious. Without the unbelievable determination, superior strength, and relentless aggressiveness of the United States Marines in World War II, the United States could have very well lost the war.
...ntrol what. This led to competition to try to control the most foreign colonies, and in turn, sustain their economy. And whenever there is competition, there are tensions formed, as was the case between the powers prior to WW1, driving the nations to war.
After the fall of Saipan, Imperial Japanese Army and Naval forces were deployed to the island of Iwo Jima; a very small island, approxim...
The battle occurred in the island of Okinawa. Okinawa is the largest of the islands in the Ryukyus. Running generally north to south, it is 60 miles long and 18 miles wide, with an area of 483 square miles. It is entirely fringed with reefs: on the western side the reef lies fairly close to shore and is seldom over a mile wide; on the eastern side, where the coast is more sheltered, the reef extends for some distance off shore, the widest a...
In The Rememberer, one of the main characters, Ben, has an epiphany where he realizes that humans are thinking way too much and have lost contact with their hearts. His epiphany makes him spiral into a depression, leading him to be described as a sad man. As the story progress on, Ben, drifts deeper into a depression until eventually killing himself. Ben changes into different animals to represent the different stages of his depression and how he loses contact with the human world. When he turns into the ape, this shows how be is becoming less of a man and more of a child. He reaches out to Annie and she sharply commands “No,” demonstrating the discipline you would teach to a child or animal (Bender 4). After transforming into the turtle, he comes to represent an old man: lonely, with out purpose, and hiding in his shell. Finally, the salamander represents how he is no longer human and he loses contact with his world. Afte...
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Ever since I can remember, I have always dreamt of a career in medicine. I have always had a passion of saving others people's lives. Being a doctor is meant for me because I love taking the time throughout my day to make a difference in people's lives. I am willing to further my education for an extended amount of time just to fulfill my dreams of becoming a doctor. Others want to become a doctor because of money or prestige, I want to become a doctor to help the people that are ill. My grandmother, who has been suffering from Cancer for 3 years is recovering from therapy. Even though, she experiences skin problems frequently, the doctors are still doing everything in their power to help her recover. Her hair have started to grow back and she is back to her normal self. This is one of the reasons why I want to be a doctor. When one is a doctor, people look up to that individual when they are at their weakest point. When they have no one else a doctor helps maintain a sense of hope for the patient and his or her family. I will be honored to say that I will be the person people turn t...
Lets think about a job that allows you to soar through the air like an eagle, without a care in the world, the job of a pilot is an amazing job that provides you with three things freedom, fully using your sight, and control.