In the aerospace context, an astronaut is a person who is trained and qualified to operate spacecraft and to perform tasks related to spaceflight. Astronauts typically go through rigorous physical and psychological training, as well as training in the operation of the spacecraft and its systems.
Astronauts are either affiliated with a national space program, such as NASA in the US or Roscosmos in Russia, or are involved with private space companies such as SpaceX, Blue Origin or Virgin Galactic.
Examples of astronauts include:
- Neil Armstrong, who was the first person to walk on the Moon as part of the Apollo 11 mission.
- Yuri Gagarin, who was the first human to journey into outer space when his Vostok spacecraft completed an orbit of the Earth on 12 April 1961
- Alan Shepard, who was the first American astronaut in space
- Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman to fly in space
- Sally Ride, who was the first American woman in space.
- Sunita Williams, who has flown on two spaceflights and spent a total of 322 days in space.
Astronauts are involved in a wide range of activities, from conducting scientific research and experiments to performing maintenance and repairs on spacecraft, and from commanding and controlling the spacecraft to monitoring the health and well-being of the crew. The tasks of an astronaut vary depending on the specific mission, but all of them are specialized professionals.