Hi. This is Estella Gillette. I have been unable to connect for the last several minutes. I hope someone is there still and that you do have some questions. I'll try again to connect. I have so been looking forward to doing this that I hope we're successful today. If not, we'll just have to try again! Estella, I read your biography and it didn't metion anything about astronaut selection. Are you involved in that? Hello! Yes, I am a member of the Astronaut Selection Board here at the Johnson Space Center. There are generally about 12 of us on the Board. I am a senior in highschool, and I hope to eventually go on to medical school. I would like to apply to be an astronaut after my schooling. To was wondering if my undergraduate degree could be in a different field besides science if I still earn a medical degree. The basic requirements are a bachelor's degree in engineering, biological or physical science, or math. The medical degree is a qualifier, but your undergraduate discipline must qualify as well. Estella Are there also some extracurricular activities that one should pursue if students are thinking of a career in space - besides the academic classes? Rene--yes, extracurricular activities are very important. What we look for are "well-rounded" applicants who have the experience gained from many activities. A demonstration of team work is very important. For example, being in the high school band, or playing football or volleyball, or being active in the student council, etc., would demonstrate that you have the ability to participate in interactive activities, as well as the ability to lead or even to follow as a part of a group. I find that many of our applicants have had multi-activities throughout their lives. "Practice makes perfect" and the more you learn from processes that provide you with transferrable skills, the more valuable you become to us as an astronaut applicant or any other type of employee here. Estella, are all the astronauts at a genuis level, or do some of them have basic intelligence with a lot of hard work? -all astronauts are not genuises, but they are VERY smart! Most of them have excelled in their academic arenas and have participated in multi-activities throughout their lives. I do not believe that it takes a genuis to be an astronaut. Most of the astronauts are what I would call "regular" people. They are very hardworking and dedicated and it takes that to be an astronaut because their profession requires a lot more involvement than what they had already been used to. When I worked directly in the Astronaut Office as their Chief of Administrative Support, I was very aware of how busy they were and how they were always involved in many activities. I think that this total involvement in whatever they do is really what makes them appear to be such geniuses. They have a wide range of experience gained not only from their academic knowledge, but also from their ability to apply those knowledges well. But, you will find that most of the astronauts have a wonderful sense of humor and a terrific sense of family responsibility. What job was the person who was chosen to be an astronaut do? He is a mechanical engineer, he is very well rounded -- involved in many different activities outside of his work at NASA. He was not extremly athletic when he was in high school, but as an adult became very active. Estella, I have been involved in highschool, and have a high GPA but my SAT's and ACT's are average. Do you take into consideration those scores? The GPA is important and so is the SAT. However, that is not the only factor that we look at. A GPA that is above 2.9-3.0 is okay, but higher is better. I've seen SAT scores that range, but the higher ones are really noticeable. Fortunately, however, that's not all we look at! ********** Do you think gender equity should be addressed or should we just be talking about the outstanding jobs you both do and sometimes that issue arises? I try to emphasize the wonderful contributions women are making when I work with my students and I don't want to dwell on the gender- equity. Tish Krieg: . . . . Tue, Oct 15, 2:47PM PDT (-0700 GMT). . . [471 ] Nancy-This is an interesting point that you bring up and one that we are currently discussing considering the project direction - we want our emphasis to have the most positive impact on the students and teachers I think even hearing about women in math and science fields is extremly positive. I attended an all girl high school -- and we were never encouraged to pursue those fields. ********** I also enjoy sports and I don't want a job where I feel like I'm behind a desk all day,how would you describe your job? Do either of you frustrated by the lack of funds granted by NASA when so much could be accomplished and discovered? Estella- Do you think you would have pursued another career if you had gotten a degree earlier? Estella- How many people apply to the astronaut committee and how often do they take applications? Shari--This last application period (in 1995-96)we had 2200 qualified applicants, interviewed 123, and selected 35. The last selection period was in 1994-95. The application period is continuous. If the applications are older than a year, we do request updates when it's time to announce another selection effort. Tish--I'm back! I've found my "missing" messages! Shari--I actually started college right out of high school but I had to go to night school and that got old very soon. My original major was actually biology. I had excelled in biology while I was in high school and I really liked it. But, as I began to work as a clerk, then a secretary, I became aware that I really liked the "people" business and changed my major to English. Then I dropped out of college for a while. When I did go back, I had worked so many years as a secretary and in the people business that I chose business administration instead. But, had I been exposed to math and science early on, and had I been encouraged--instead of frightened of math--I probably would have gone into a technical degree area. The other factor was that I could not go to college full time, and that impacted my degree decision. Estella- Once you are selected does that mean you automatically get to go on amission? Pat--Once you are selected to be an astronaut, you have to go through a one-year training period. Throughout this year, the selectees are referred to as "astronaut candidates" or "ascans" for short. Once the training is complete, they will be designated as astronauts. Then, they will be assigned to a mission, according to the needs of the mission and according to the flight schedule. We already have some of the 1994-95 group assigned to missions and those will fly after January 1997. That's quick! Believe me, as ascans they are so busy that they don't have time to think about the missions they'll be selected to! Tish--I believe I've answered them all now. Thanks again! Thanks Estella so much for you time. Tish,my pleasure!