posted 04-14-2010 02:31 PM               

Astronauts4Hire Launches, Selects Initial Candidates for Commercial Scientist Astronauts

Astronauts4Hire, a new collaborative effort to support and develop a pool of qualified, commercial scientist astronauts announces today the launch of its website and selection of eleven initial astronaut candidates.

The candidates, selected from industry and academia, bring with them a wide variety of experience and expertise, representing a diverse set of disciplines. Pooling their collective resources and talents, and leveraging their common passion and commitment for space exploration, the candidates have created Astronauts4Hire to support the emerging suborbital research industry. On a day that marks the anniversaries of the first human to orbit the Earth and the maiden flight of the Space Shuttle, this announcement marks a push towards a new era of more accessible commercial space research and exploration.

Astronauts4Hire is soliciting sponsors and donors to enable the candidates to undergo spaceflight training and obtain other pertinent experience that will increase their competitiveness as astronauts-for-hire by those private firms conducting scientific research on suborbital platforms. The initial target is to obtain $40,000 USD which will be used to allow the initial astronaut candidates to take part in the three-day Suborbital Scientist Training Program at the NASTAR Center in Pennsylvania. The course includes medical screening, classroom preparation, centrifuge and hypobaric chamber training.

Additional astronaut candidates and training course targets will be identified as the effort moves forward. Astronauts4Hire intends to become the one-stop shop for those seeking qualified, experienced professionals to conduct microgravity and other research on suborbital, and later orbital platforms. The website will eventually evolve to allow anyone who has the dream of becoming a commercial astronaut to create an online profile listing their experience and training, allowing them to see how they rank against other prospective astronauts. The site will become an interactive tool, providing a forum for discussion and collaboration.

The initial Astronauts4Hire are:

• Jim Crowell - Student, Arizona State University
  
• Bruce Davis - Ph.D. Student, University of Colorado
  
• Kristine Ferrone - ISS Flight Controller, NASA JSC
  
• Amnon Govrin - Software Engineer, Spacepirations.com
  
• Chad Healy - MS Student, University of Colorado
  
• Ryan Kobrick - Ph.D. Candidate, University of Colorado
  
• Joseph Palaia - Vice President, 4Frontiers Corp
  
• Luis Saraiva, Ph.D. - Neuroscientist, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
  
• Brian Shiro, Geophysicist - NOAA
  
• Laura Stiles - Ph.D. Student, University of Colorado
  
• Veronica Ann Zabala-Aliberto - NASA LROC Coordinator, Arizona State University

posted 06-20-2010 11:28 PM               

Astronauts4Hire expands its team of Commercial Astronaut Candidates

Astronauts4Hire announced that it has selected six new members, bringing the total number of commercial astronaut candidates in the organization to seventeen.

The new Astronauts4Hire recruits bring a great depth of experience to the initiative to develop a pool of qualified commercial astronauts. Many of them are private pilots with a long resume of experience working in the aerospace industry and have extensive experience working in microgravity aboard parabolic flights.

One new member is a professional triathlete and author of several books on the topic of astronaut training.

The new Astronauts4Hire are:

• Ben Corbin - Ph.D. Student, MIT
  
• José Miguel Hurtado, Jr. - Associate Professor, University of Texas at El Paso
  
• Jason Reimuller - Ph.D. Candidate, University of Colorado
  
• Todd Romberger - Mechanical Engineer, ASRC Aerospace
  
• Erik Seedhouse - Consultant, Author, and Athlete
  
• Alli Taylor - Satellite Systems Engineer, Lockheed Martin