hufflesnuff
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Of the people in space right now, the Russians average 46, Chinese average 39, and Americans average 63 years old.
Why are older people never retiring in America these days? There have to be qualified 30-40-or-50-something astronauts, right?
IDontCareAtAllButIShould
Because this is the new USA. We have to work till we die. If you have a job you don't quit because you won't get another one because of your age.
Corrodias
Well how big is the sample size? Just how many Americans are included in that average?
hufflesnuff
I just did the math. Of all the NASA astronauts who have ever been to space, the youngest is 36, oldest is 69, average age is 52. So it's a little better than who's up there now, but it's still old both by historical and international standards.
lightfoot2
Boomers will never let go of power. They need to be carried out on a stretcher. There are several reasons for this.
G3arShift
Ah yes, the power of spaceflight. Truly, we must smite these elderly astronauts so we may drink their blood and inherit their powers, just as the astronauts of old did to their elders.
lightfoot2
Worked for the Aztecs.
hufflesnuff
I'm not meaning to be rude. I'm just saying the guy on the left is gonna be 70 come April and he's stuck up there. It seems kinda cruel not to send people younger at closer to peak physique. We didn't used to have 70-something astronauts when I was a kid. Fighter pilots neither.
lightfoot2
Understood. There's also a very big concept of "your turn" in this world and there's just so many boomers they all have to have their "turn". This explains a lot about why politics is packed with old people, it was Hillary's "turn" and Obama jumped the line. Then Biden's "turn". Younger people? Sorry, wait till all the Boomer types are through maybe in 30 or so years.....
sambaah05
Meh. This current situation is an outlier. Average US astronaut age is 34. https://www.nasa.gov/humans-in-space/becoming-an-astronaut-frequently-asked-questions/ . If they aren't capable or able, that's one thing. But just pushing them out of the way because of their age is discriminatory and dumb.
hufflesnuff
That's the average age for the candidate program, right? How many years from the candidate program to when you can be selected to go to space? We only have 40 active astronauts, I think, the newest being Nichole Ayers who is 36 and still awaiting her first space assignment. Hold on, I'm going to look into it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA_Astronaut_Corps
hufflesnuff
Of those who have been to space among the active astronaut corps: Vanda-Hei: 58, Barratt: 65, Finke: 57, Caldwell-Dyson: 55, Rubio: 39, Walker: 59, Koch: 45, Lindgren: 51, Rubins: 46, Morgan: 48, Dominck: 43, Epps, 54: Bowen: 60, McArthur: 53, Glover: 48, Meier, 47, O'Hara, 41, McClain, 45, Moghbeli, 41, Hoburg, 39, Wheelock: 64, Charri, 47, Hines, 49, Watkins, 36!!!, Tingle, 49, Weissman, 49, Aunapu Mann, 47, Wilson, 58, Bresnick, 57, Boe, 60, Hague, 49, Pettit, 69, Wilmore, 61, Williams, 59,
hufflesnuff
So looks like the oldest is 69, the youngest is 36 and the average age is 52. I think Aldrin, Armstrong, and Collins were all in their late 30s.