Navy Limits Nominations to Space Program

Colleges and Universities A-Z Naval Academy - Annapolis
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<p>Navy Limits Nominations to Space Program</p>

<p>For what may be the first time since the inception of the American space program, the Navy is restricting nominations to the astronaut corps. The move comes nearly 50 years after Alan B. Shepard, a naval aviator, became the first American in space.</p>

<p>The cutback, Navy officials say, comes as the service tries to retain the expertise it needs to fulfill its wartime obligations while experiencing an overall decline in its numbers. A message from Vice Admiral J. C. Harvey Jr. last month stated that applications for Navy nominations to the space program from 10 specialties would not be accepted "due to critical inventory shortfalls and/or priority global war on terrorism skill set requirements."</p>

<p>Those groups include the special warfare forces known as Seals, certain engineering groups and experts in explosive ordinance disposal, as well as permanent military professors and public affairs officers...</p>

<p>The Navy "has always been a good provider of folks" for NASA, he said, and the service has been represented in every astronaut class...</p>

<p><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/27/us/27astro.html?_r=1&hp=&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1209240215-PvdJoKS5QHt5xBoXEJAI0Q%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/27/us/27astro.html?_r=1&hp=&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1209240215-PvdJoKS5QHt5xBoXEJAI0Q&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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Duane Ross, the manager for astronaut candidate selection and training at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, said the space agency heard about the squeeze earlier this year when word came down through their usual “points of contact ” that only five people would be nominated by the Navy.

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<p>This smells of a power play. Once before the Navy was over exuberant in their prescreening by basically giving NASA a final list. NASA, wanting to retain control of the input didn't select any from Navy that year. My little birdie tells me that NASA will do the same this year if the Navy does indeed only give them 5 names.</p>