Then there’s Brian O’Leary, who gave up the rat race to space. He had a Ph.D. in astronomy and was selected as a member of NASA’s Astronaut Group 6 — an astronaut class of scientists, many of whom never snagged a seat on a rocket — but O’Leary struggled with the requirement in place at the time that he become proficient in flying jets. He also felt the organization was insufficiently devoted to science. So, after some soul searching and an unpleasant solo jet flight, O’Leary resigned from NASA before venturing to space.
Similarly, Philip K. Chapman, a classmate of O’Leary who was also chafed at what he felt was NASA’s less-than-serious approach to science, worked his way out of a trip to space. Not only did Chapman clash with the then-head of the astronaut office, Deke Slayton, he was also openly derisive of the Space Shuttle. Chapman (who even described himself as “insubordinate”) resigned from NASA before flying to space, ultimately becoming a critic of the space agency.
According to Chris Flynn, a psychiatrist and former NASA flight surgeon, “I would imagine that the scientists who did not fly found the wait too long compared to their career interests.”
Perseverance pays off!
It’s also worth mentioning some of those who accepted living in the gray zone between astronaut and non-astronaut for an inordinate amount of time.
Per Flynn: “An individual must defeat overwhelming odds to become an astronaut, so they tend to persevere. They will not relinquish the goal of flying in space without a tremendous fight to succeed.”
A prime example of this is Deke Slayton, mentioned above. Slayton was accepted to fly during the Mercury program, but a heart condition grounded him for 13 long years. Eventually, though, he got the last seat on the last flight of the Apollo program: the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. Don Lind, meanwhile, waited a mind-boggling 19 years at NASA before he finally rode a shuttle into orbit.
The personal journeys and challenges of those above show that being accepted into a NASA astronaut program is not a guarantee you’ll actually make it to space. However, even though they never earned an official designation of astronaut, these candidates undoubtedly exemplified the spirit behind the word.
Doug Adler is the co-author of From The Earth to the Moon: The Miniseries Companion