Interview with Christina Birch, former track cyclist, now astronaut

[fiamme red]

She's certainly in good enough physical condition for the job.

https://www.velonews.com/news/road/1...-an-astronaut/

Before December 6, if you Google’d Christina Birch’s name, the first website that came up was the track cyclist’s USA Cycling “Meet the Athlete” page.

Now, however, her name brings up a different homepage – nasa.gov.

That’s because Birch, an 11-time track national champion, two-time Pan Am gold medalist, and Olympic long team member, is going to become an astronaut.

On Monday, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration — or NASA as we know it — announced its candidates for the 2021 astronaut class, and Birch was one of 10 selected. Over 12,000 people applied to the program, and it’s the first time NASA has named a new astronaut class in four years...

[nalax]

And also a PHD from MIT to go with her palmarès!

[roguedog]

So cool. And WOW on the phd from MIT.

How does the program work? I assume the candidates get paid during training?

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by roguedog

So cool. And WOW on the phd from MIT.

How does the program work? I assume the candidates get paid during training?

Yes, they are NASA employees..pretty much like military pay.

The pay grades for civilian astronauts are GS-11 through GS-14, based on academic achievements and experience. Currently, a GS-11 astronaut starts at $64,724 per year; a GS-14 astronaut can earn up to $141,715 in annual salary

If in the military, stay in the military.

Military astronauts are detailed to the Johnson Space Center and remain on active duty for pay, benefits, leave, and similar military matters.