Programs for Future Astronauts Announced

Upper Southampton’s Environmental Tectonics Corporation has announced new space training classes and several experience programs at the NASTAR Center, which is one of the leading commercial aerospace training and research centers, on James Way, according to the company.

The new classes and experience programs are to prepare passengers, pilots, flight physicians, emergency responders and the general public for commercial space travel, expected to begin next year.

Upcoming classes and programs at the facility, the only one approved by the Federal Aviation Administration's Office of Commercial Space Transportation, will include: Introduction to Space, Basic Space Training, Advanced Space Training, Payload Specialist Training, Space Suits and Systems Training, Space Pilot Training, and Emergency Management Training.

The NASTAR Center has trained over 240 commercial spaceflight trainees since it opened in the township in 2007, the company’s release states.

The NASTAR Center’s space training courses and programs include:

Introduction to Space: A half-day course for all audiences providing fun, interactive and hands-on overviews of space, and culminating in an actual simulated Astronaut spaceflight experience.

Basic Space Training: A two day program designed to provide future space travelers with the core knowledge and skills to become a safe, confident and capable suborbital spaceflight participant.
       
Advanced Space Training: Two days of enhanced knowledge and in-depth training that includes emergency preparedness which goes above and beyond the basic space training course.

Space Payload Specialist Training: A one day supplemental course to the Basic Space Training Course, aimed at researchers, scientists, and graduate students interested in understanding how to design, plan, and conduct experiments in suborbital space.

Space Suit and Systems Training: This program is designed with a spacesuit manufacturer to provide Space Launch Operators, Pilots, Crew and Passengers with the knowledge and skills to don and doff space suits, and use protective life support equipment effectively in both nominal and emergency situations.

Space Pilot: This standard or customizable program is designed to provide space pilots with the knowledge and skills necessary to maintain safety of the vehicle and the passengers during flight. Course components include: Situational Awareness, Spatial Disorientation, Upset Prevention and Recovery Training, Hypobaric (High Altitude) Training, Space Launch to Land Emergency and Nominal Flight Training, Crew Resource Management, and Land and Water Survival Training.     

Emergency Response and Management Training: This program is designed to provide Mission Controllers, Incident Commanders, and/or Ground Crew Personnel with the knowledge and skills necessary to effectively manage emergency scenarios and provide continual procedural training for personnel surrounding a space launch or landing event.