Choosing the Right Stuff The Psychological Selection of Astronauts and Cosmonauts

Subjects:

• Psychology » Cognitive Psychology

Reviews:

• ...a fascinating and informative look at the psychological and historical development of the US space program, and provides the best case history of human factors research this reviewer has ever read. The work illuminates the intricate details that are important to such large-scale human factors projects, and readers will feel as if they were actually a part of that history. Readers may also find the information on the Soviet space program and future space projects particularly interesting. Recommended.
  —
  Choice
• This is a fascinating book to read because of its insight into the psychological aspects of astronaut selection. It will be instructive to almost any reader, but particularly to the psychologist interested in astronaut selection. One of the most valuable portions of this book is the author's very careful and well-researched description of astronaut selection procedures in other countries. Her descriptions are well worth reading. The portion of the book describing the Soviet selection process makes fascinating reading. This is a most interesting (for a variety of reasons) book. I can, without hesitation, recommend it.
  —
  Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine
• Of major interest to psychologists, psychiatrists, and behavioral and human factors scientists who want to select and train flight crew members for successful performance in space, this book provides very helpful insight for the evaluation and selection process...This book is a scholarly achievement in psychology and psychiatry.
  —Contemporary Psychology

Table of Contents:

• Tables and Figures
• Acknowledgments
• The Beginning of the Future--Project Mercury
• Introduction
• One of Those Interesting Social Phenomena--Gemini and Apollo
• Opening the New Frontier--Shuttle
• The Dual Role of Behavioral Sciences--Selecting-In and -Out
• Not Everyone Can Fly--The Psychiatric Evaluation
• The "Real" Psychological Stuff for Missions of the Future
• An Invitation to Orbit, Part 1--The European Space Program
• An Invitation to Orbit, Part II--Japan Enters the Space Age
• The Soviet Right Stuff
• Space Station, Lunar Base, Mars, and Beyond
• Appendixes
• Bibliography
• Index
• Photo Essay