Astronauts4Hire

2013 A4H Silent Auction

2013-04-07T12:00:00.000-04:00

Astronauts4Hire is pleased to announce the launch of the First Annual A4H Online Silent Auction!! The funds raised from this year's auction, which runs from Sunday, April 7th until Friday, April 12th, will be used to support A4H's educational outreach program, furthering the A4H mission: "To increase the competitiveness of commercial astronaut candidates by providing skills training, facilitating forums for candidate communication, engaging the space research community, and inspiring the next generation."

Please join us for our auction, held in conjunction with Yuri's Night events across the globe, at: www.32auctions.com/Astronauts4Hire.

The items up for auction were generously donated by A4H friends, members, and partners, and range from collectible NASA spaceflight memorabilia, autographed books, and unique patches, to lifetime Associate memberships in Astronauts4Hire. We would like to thank everyone who donated an item for this year’s auction, for without you and our supporters, we would not be able to carry out the A4H mission.

As the spaceflight industry continues to gain momentum towards the goal of achieving manned commercial spaceflight, organizations such as A4H will play an even more important role in the development of future explorers, scientists, and spaceflight tourists.

Post-Auction Update: With your support, we raised over $800 from the auction. Thank you to everyone for making A4H's first auction such a success!

Press Release: Astronauts4Hire Announces Commercial Astronaut Candidate Application Opportunity

2013-03-20T07:55:00.000-04:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 20, 2013

Astronauts4Hire Announces Commercial Astronaut Candidate Application Opportunity

Tampa, Florida – Astronauts4Hire (A4H) is pleased to announce that it is seeking highly qualified candidates to expand its cadre of prospective commercial astronauts. Individuals interested in becoming Flight Members can submit applications via the Astronauts4Hire website at http://forms.astronauts4hire.org/FMapplication by April 20, 2013. Selectees will be announced during the first week of June 2013 at the Next-generation Suborbital Researchers Conference in Broomfield, Colorado.

A4H Flight Members must speak English fluently and hold at least a Master's degree or equivalent in a relevant field of science or engineering. Exceptional applicants who are current students expecting to graduate within two years will also be considered. Those selected as A4H astronaut candidates should possess a unique combination of scientific expertise, broad technical and operational skills, and a history of activities showing adaptability in challenging environments. Finalists will be asked to provide an FAA Class 3 medical certificate and verification of credentials within 90 days of selection and will be expected to complete Research Specialist Astronaut training within two years of selection.

"I am thrilled to once again expand our Flight Member team with motivated, highly competent candidates to keep pace with the emerging needs of commercial spaceflight research missions," remarked A4H President Brian Shiro. "I encourage anyone interested in a career as a commercial astronaut to apply."

Astronauts4Hire provides its member community with training discounts and a support structure to achieve members’ space training goals in order to maximize preparation for space flights. As A4H’s astronaut candidates, Flight Members follow a progressive, integrated training program that emphasizes the ability to perform missions effectively during all phases of flight as well as manage contingencies.

About Astronauts4Hire:
Astronauts for Hire, Inc. (A4H) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation whose objectives are to provide opportunities for students and professionals to develop and refine the skills necessary to become commercial astronauts and to assist these qualified candidates with networking opportunities in the space research community. A4H's commercial astronaut candidates are accomplished scientists and engineers who can support a wide variety of payloads. They are available today for contract and consulting work with researchers to design and conduct experiments on microgravity, suborbital, and orbital missions. For more information, please visit www.Astronauts4Hire.org or contact Public Relations Officer Ben Corbin at media[at]astronauts4hire.org or at (850) 685-2218.

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Interested parties can download and distribute the press release as a MS Word or Adobe PDF document.

A4H Newsletter Issue #4

2013-02-18T07:00:00.000-05:00

Astronauts4Hire's fourth newsletter The A4H News is here! Highlights in this issue include interviews with A4H Flight Member Dr. Mindy Howard and former NASA astronaut Christopher Ferguson, recaps of recent A4H activities, a preview of A4H Training Officer Dr. Erik Seedhouse's latest book Pulling G, and the most important news in the commercial spaceflight industry.

Click below to view the newsletter in full screen mode, or download the PDF.

Like this? Sign up to receive email notifications for future issues of The A4H News, or contact us to learn about advertising opportunities.

Did you miss the first three issues of the newsletter? View them here:

Press Release: Astronauts4Hire and NASTAR Center Announce Partnership

2013-01-29T10:15:00.000-05:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 29, 2013

Astronauts4Hire and NASTAR Center Announce Partnership

Tampa, Florida – Astronauts4Hire and the National AeroSpace Training and Research (NASTAR®) Center are proud to announce that they have signed a services agreement for NASTAR Center Space Training and to collaborate on developing new A4H-branded training programs for A4H’s commercial astronaut candidates.

A4H and the NASTAR Center will work together to develop A4H-specific training courses for astronaut candidates interested in aiding researchers, payload developers, and spaceflight providers with mission planning and operations support during spaceflight missions.

"A4H is an ambitious organization that has demonstrated diverse interests in space applications," stated Brienna Henwood, Director of Space Training and Research at the NASTAR Center. "I look forward to their insight and am happy to support their training goals of conducting research operations in space."

The agreement provides access to advanced commercial spaceflight training, including altitude and motion physiology curricula and hands-on simulated spaceflight launch to reentry flight exposures to A4H members at The NASTAR Center facility, which is located just outside Philadelphia. Space training will feature the NASTAR Center's PHOENIX centrifuge to deliver the authentic full-force spaceflight mission simulation needed to support a variety of profiles and task objectives encountered by flyers on suborbital and orbital spaceflight missions.

"I am very pleased with this agreement and look forward to working with the NASTAR Center to enhance and tailor their training specifically for professional astronaut-scientist crewmembers," remarked A4H President Brian Shiro. "With NASTAR as a valued partner, we are well-positioned to meet the needs of the emerging commercial spaceflight industry."

The NASTAR Center is the world's leading provider of training services for commercial suborbital space flights and first facility to receive safety approval from the Federal Aviation Administration to conduct suborbital space training. To date, more than 250 spaceflight participants and scientists have prepared for space at the NASTAR Center in Southampton, PA.

About Astronauts4Hire:
Astronauts for Hire, Inc. (A4H) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation whose objectives are to provide opportunities for students and professionals to develop and refine the skills necessary to become commercial astronauts and to assist these qualified candidates with networking opportunities in the space research community. A4H's commercial astronaut candidates are accomplished scientists and engineers who can support a wide variety of payloads. They are available today for contract and consulting work with researchers to design and conduct experiments on microgravity, suborbital, and orbital missions. For more information, please visit www.Astronauts4Hire.org or contact Public Relations Officer Ben Corbin at media[at]astronauts4hire.org or at (850) 685-2218.

About NASTAR Center:
The National AeroSpace Training And Research (NASTAR®) Center is a unit of Environmental Tectonics Corporation (ETC®) (www.etcusa.com). The NASTAR Center is a state-of-the-art aerospace training, research, and educational facility dedicated to improving the health and safety of humans in extreme conditions. NASTAR Center serves military aviation (fixed and rotary wing), civil aviation (fixed and rotary wing), space travel (government and private), and provides research support for component and human factors testing. For more information about the NASTAR Center, visit www.nastarcenter.com or contact Brienna Henwood at bhenwood[at]nastarcenter.com or at (215) 355-9100 x1504.

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Interested parties can download and distribute the press release as a MS Word or Adobe PDF document.

A4H Promo Video Release

2013-01-25T14:52:00.000-05:00

The long-awaited video highlighting Astronauts4Hire's purpose, services, and the training its members undergo to become professional commercial astronauts is now available on the A4H YouTube channel. Watch now to learn about the only organization developing the next generation commercial astronaut workforce.

"Astronauts4Hire is a fast-growing 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization comprised of Ph.D. level experts in a wide array of scientific fields spread all over the world. We're developing this commercial astronaut workforce to bridge the gap between researchers and the new commercial space industry. We can help your organization be highly productive on parabolic flights, suborbital or even orbital missions. Contact us today to put our team to work on your project."

--Brian Shiro, A4H CEO

Special thanks to Oceans Aloft and Rusty Rogers for filming and producing the video. We also thank A4H's training partners Survival Systems USA, SIRIUS Astronaut Training, and the NASTAR Center for allowing us to shoot the footage at their facilities. Additional footage is courtesy of A4H client Vital Space during our joint 2012 NASA parabolic flight campaign testing a biomedical monitoring system in microgravity.

Happy Holidays from A4H

2012-12-24T10:00:00.000-05:00

Dear friends of Astronauts4Hire,

Reflecting back upon 2012, I am impressed by the strides Astronauts4Hire has made to firmly establish itself as an important leader in the commercial spaceflight industry. Our primary mission is to build the next generation astronaut workforce by providing skills training, networking, and other professional development opportunities to aspiring commercial astronauts. As a 501(c)(3) educational nonprofit, we rely upon the volunteer efforts of our members, generosity of our sponsors, and collaboration with our partners to meet our goals. With your help, we have achieved a lot in the past year, including:

With partner Vital Space, we completed our second job as "astronauts for hire" testing the Sotera Wireless Visi Mobile biometric monitoring system on a NASA parabolic flight campaign. The project received a great deal of TV and radio media coverage as well.
We announced our commercial astronaut training programs with qualifications for Research Specialist Astronaut and Operations Specialist Astronaut. The first qualified A4H astronauts will be announced by mid-2013.
We published the first, second, and third issues of The A4H News, which is our quarterly newsletter. Features include interviews with industry leaders, updates on A4H activities, and summaries of commercial space developments. Look for Issue #4 at the end of January 2013.
A4H was a sponsor of the 2012 Next-generation Suborbital Researchers Conference in Palo Alto, CA, where more than a dozen A4H members and partners presented on a range of topics. We were also an exhibitor at the NewSpace 2012 Conference in Santa Clara, CA.
Erik Seedhouse's book Astronauts for Hire: The Emergence of the Commercial Astronaut Corps came out, highlighting the nascent commercial spaceflight industry and the rise of commercial astronauts. Listen to Erik talk about it on The Space Show.
A4H became a member of the NASA Human Health and Performance Center (NHHPC), signed a memorandum of understanding agreement with The NASTAR Center, and renewed its other existing partnerships.
In August 2012, A4H surpassed the 100-member mark and continues to grow at a healthy rate. A4H members hail from nearly 20 countries, and more than half have doctoral degrees in a wide range of science and engineering fields.

Looking ahead, we will continue to mature our training program, advance partnerships to facilitate space research, and provide inspiration to aspiring astronauts of all ages. If you believe in the exciting potential of A4H and want to support our innovative role in the commercial spaceflight industry, please consider making a tax-deductible year-end gift to help lay a strong foundation for A4H in 2013. Just click the "Donate" button on our website, or contact us.

On behalf of everyone at Astronauts4Hire, I wish you a happy holiday season and successful new year!

Warm regards,
Brian Shiro
President & CEO, Astronauts4Hire

Seedhouse on The Space Show

2012-10-26T22:12:00.002-04:00

Earlier this week, A4H Training Officer Dr. Erik Seedhouse was the featured guest on The Space Show where he discussed his new book Astronauts for Hire: The Emergence of the Commercial Astronaut Corps (ISBN 978-1-4614-0519-1), which has been available since April 2012. The interview covers suborbital and orbital spaceflight, aeromedical issues, training, safety, and the activities of the A4H organization. It's an engaging conversation that we proudly recommend to anyone interested in commercial spaceflight.

Listen to the show here:

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A4H Newsletter Issue #3

2012-07-03T09:00:00.000-04:00

We are proud to present Astronauts4Hire's third quarterly newsletter The A4H News. Highlights in this issue include interviews with A4H Chief Operating Officer Dr. Jason Reimuller and NASA astronaut Dr. Yvonne Cagle, recaps of recent A4H activities - including the successful Vital Space microgravity research flights - and the most important news in the commercial spaceflight industry.

Click below to view the newsletter in full screen mode, or download the PDF.

Like this? Sign up to receive email notifications for future issues of The A4H News, or contact us to learn about advertising opportunities.

Did you miss the first two issues of the newsletter? View them here and here!

A4H and Vital Space in the news

2012-06-23T16:13:00.000-04:00

On our recent NASA-funded parabolic flights with partner Vital Space, A4H helped evaluate Sotera Wireless's new FDA-approved biomedical monitoring system in the microgravity environment in order to advance the safety of spaceflight for everyone. The first news media stories associated with A4H's second parabolic research project are out, and we'd like to share them with you.

The principal investigators of the study doctors Komatireddy and Barrett from the Scripps Translational Science Institute were on three local news programs this week talking about the project's goals to better understand and monitor the human body's response to spaceflight. Their live interviews include footage of A4H flight members Reimuller and Shiro testing the Sotera device in microgravity. You can watch all three video segments below:

KUSI TV Good Morning San Diego (also watch on YouTube):

KGTV ABC 10 News San Diego (text here, also watch on YouTube):

KSWD FOX 5 News San Diego (text here, also watch on YouTube):

In addition, 89.3 KPCC Radio's The Madeleine Brand Show recently featured an interview with A4H President Brian Shiro for their "Dream Job" series. Set against the backdrop of the Vital Space parabolic flights, the story addresses Brian's personal astronaut aspirations in today's changing space industry and also includes perspectives from NASA, SpaceX, and Virgin Galactic representatives. You can listen below:

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It’s a big dream, and you’ve got to enjoy the small steps on the way towards your big leap.

Press Release: Advancing safe space flight for everyone, Vital Space and Astronauts4Hire test innovative Biometric Monitoring Platform in Zero Gravity

2012-05-29T17:18:00.000-04:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 29, 2012

Advancing safe space flight for everyone, Vital Space and Astronauts4Hire test innovative Biometric Monitoring Platform in Zero Gravity

Houston, Texas – Vital Space and Astronauts4Hire completed a 4-day flight research campaign consisting of 160 microgravity parabolas to validate ViSi Mobile, a cutting-edge FDA-approved vital sign monitoring system. Astronauts4Hire flight members Jason Reimuller and Brian Shiro provided operational expertise and served as subjects in the study, which aims to leverage emerging innovations in mobile health technology for spaceflight applications.

"Commercial spaceflight participants present a variety of opportunities for new biomedical research," said the project Principal Investigator Dr. Ravi Komatireddy, a KL2 clinician scholar in wireless medicine at the Scripps Translational Science Institute trained in Internal Medicine. "This flight campaign lays the groundwork for future experiments that aim to create new risk models, establish training or certification standards, link with existing medical records, and complement existing medical research and evaluation in space using innovative sensor technology."

Paddy Barrett, Jason Reimuller, and Justin Buckingham operating the
ViSi Mobile in zero gravity. Image Credit: NASA

The team tested the innovative ViSi Mobile^TM System from Sotera Wireless, Inc. This platform leverages recent advances in wireless medical technology to monitor critical, physiological metrics such as blood pressure, arterial hemoglobin oxygen saturation, heart rate, respiratory rate, skin temperature, and multi-lead electrocardiogram.

The experiment involved a comprehensive hardware test to examine basic device functionality and usability. Test subjects performed a variety of activities to simulate normal and emergency medical use cases expected in the space environment. Vital Space partner MEDgle will use sophisticated analytics to analyze data.

"SpaceX's recent successful launch and docking with the International Space Station harkens to the approaching age of commercial spaceflight," remarked A4H President Brian Shiro. "We are excited to contribute to the Vital Space effort, which has the potential to increase health and safety for a wider demographic of space flyers and expand access to the space frontier."

"Sotera's mission is to keep people safe by detecting early signs of potential deterioration in virtually any setting," said Dr. Gunnar Trommer, VP Marketing for Sotera Wireless. "Since we are a high-technology company, why would that be limited to healthcare facilities or even the ground? If one wants to explore the limits of a product, it needs to be challenged under extreme conditions. If it works in zero-gravity, you know that it will work under normal conditions too."

NASA’s Flight Opportunities Program under the Space Technology Program funded the flight campaign, which was facilitated by NASA’s Reduced Gravity Office in Ellington Field, Texas.

About Astronauts4Hire:
Astronauts for Hire, Inc. (A4H) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation whose objectives are to provide opportunities for students and professionals to develop and refine the skills necessary to become commercial astronauts and to assist these qualified candidates with networking opportunities in the space research community. A4H's commercial astronaut candidates are accomplished scientists and engineers who can support a wide variety of payloads. They are available today for contract and consulting work with researchers to design and conduct experiments on microgravity, suborbital, and orbital missions. For more information, please visit www.Astronauts4Hire.org or contact Public Relations Officer Ben Corbin at media[at]astronauts4hire.org or at (850) 685-2218.

About Vital Space:
Vital Space aims to apply state of the art mobile health technology, analytics, and multidisciplinary clinical expertise to capture human performance during aerospace training and flight. The physiologic data captured will be used to validate health technology and tools to visualize and enrich the flight experience. This and other ongoing research will assist in the creation of medical risk models for commercial spaceflight. Additionally, information regarding human performance and medical device technology will be explored for potential utility in clinical medicine and research. The upcoming parabolic flight will serve as the first opportunity to test an innovative medical device on commercial spaceflight candidates. Vital Space is working in cooperation with the Silicon Valley Space Center. For more information, contact Ravi Komatireddy at ravi[at]vitalspace.us or Sean Casey at sean.casey[at]siliconvalleyspacecenter.org.

About Scripps Translational Science Institute:
Part of San Diego-based Scripps Health, the Scripps Translational Science Institute (STSI) is a unique community collaboration that initiates research that moves basic science from the lab to the patient bedside. STSI is supported by the NIH flagship program, Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA). Collaborators in the STSI consortium include Scripps Health, Scripps Research Institute, Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation, J. Craig Venter Institute, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, San Diego State University, San Diego Supercomputer Center, and The Neurosciences Institute. For more information, please visit www.stsiweb.org.

About Sotera Wireless:
Sotera Wireless, Inc. is a San Diego based medical device company dedicated to development, marketing and sale of a new generation of comprehensive vital signs monitoring. Sotera is the ancient Greek term for savior: Sotera’s mission is to improve patient safety by empowering clinicians to detect signs of deterioration in virtually any care setting and enable early intervention and rapid response, without limiting the patient’s freedom of movement. The company’s first product, the ViSi MobileTM System is currently FDA cleared and has received CE mark for stand-alone monitoring of ECG, Heart rate/Pulse rate, SpO2, Respiratory rate, Non-invasive blood pressure (NIBP) and Skin Temperature. Other functions including Sotera’s patented continuous NIBP, Posture/Activity and wireless connectivity are in final stages of development and are not yet cleared. More information on this product and Sotera Wireless can be obtained at www.soterawireless.com or by sending an email to info[at]soterawireless.com.

About Medgle:
MEDgle is a leading, next-generation health analytics platform that empowers clinicians and patients to make educated, personalized health care decisions. MEDgle uses a vast, curated database of health knowledge to turn a patient’s acute and chronic health information into relevant health indicators and action items for both the patient and clinician. Applying proprietary, predictive algorithms to health data allows MEDgle to streamline the clinical decision making process thereby increasing efficiency and reducing cost. MEDgle is actively working with numerous top-tier health providers to continue to lead the data-driven health ecosystem. For more information, please visit www.medgle.com or contact Ash Damle at as[at]medgle.com.

About NASA Flight Opportunities Program:
The NASA Flight Opportunities Program intends to mature to flight readiness status crosscutting technologies that advance multiple future space missions. It provides frequent flight opportunities to demonstrate and develop technology payloads on both parabolic aircraft and suborbital reusable launch vehicles for reduced gravity or near-space flights. Flight Opportunities is part of the Space Technology Program and is managed at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center in Edwards, CA. NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, CA manages the payload activities for the program. For more information, please visit www.flightopportunities.nasa.gov. The October 2011 NASA press release announcing the Vital Space flight opportunity is available at http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2011/oct/HQ_11-331_CCC_Payload.txt.

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Interested parties can download and distribute the press release as a MS Word or Adobe PDF document.

Moonandback Interview

2012-04-13T20:40:00.001-04:00

Last week Moonandback.com posted a 4-part interview filmed with A4H President Brian Shiro at the NSRC 2012 conference in Palo Alto, California. The interview covered topics related to the Astronauts4Hire organization and Shiro's personal astronaut ambitions. Moonandback has generously allowed us to included all four videos here for your viewing convenience.

Part 1: Astronauts4Hire

Part 2: The Right Stuff

Part 3: One Astronaut’s Path

Part 4: Bettering the Long Odds

Press Release: "Astronauts for Hire" Book Available Now

2012-04-03T08:30:00.000-04:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 3, 2012

"Astronauts for Hire" Book Available Now

Tampa, Florida – Human spaceflight is no longer the sole preserve of professional astronauts working on government-funded space programs. As private companies build and operate launch new vehicles, a new breed of astronaut is coming into being – the commercial astronaut. Astronauts4Hire (A4H) Training Officer Dr. Erik Seedhouse’s ninth book titled Astronauts for Hire: The Emergence of the Commercial Astronaut Corps (ISBN 978-1-4614-0519-1) explores how this new breed of astronaut will be selected and trained, providing a unique insight into the kinds of missions and tasks that commercial astronauts will perform.

"Astronauts for Hire will serve as a handbook and reference guide for the nascent commercial spaceflight industry and as a guidebook for research institutions and academia seeking to employ commercial astronauts," said author Erik Seedhouse. "It will provide spaceflight enthusiasts with a unique insight into and understanding of how the spaceflight industry will be revolutionized by the emergence of a commercial astronaut corps."

The 243-page book Astronauts for Hire: The Emergence of the Commercial Astronaut Corps is published by Springer Praxis Books in its series on Space Exploration. It is available in both softcover and eBook formats wherever Springer Praxis books are sold. The table of contents and samples of the book are available on the SpringerLink website at: http://www.springerlink.com/content/978-1-4614-0519-1

The book is divided into three sections. The first part describes how the A4H organization came into being and its vision for opening the space frontier to commercial astronauts. It highlights the tantalizing science opportunities routine suborbital and orbital flights will provide and goes on to describe the training and qualification necessary for budding professional commercial astronauts. The section concludes by introducing the reader to the A4H qualification process and training programs.

The second section describes the new fleet of reusable commercial spaceships being developed that will offer quick, routine, and affordable access to the edge of space. These vehicles have the capability to carry research and education crewmembers, including “astronauts for hire.” Examining some of these specific vehicles, the book describes the hurdles the space industry must overcome before the hiring of commercial astronauts can develop into a profitable economic entity. It also provides positive suggestions on how the commercial spaceflight industry can plan and prepare for the challenges of marketing and financing the hiring of astronauts.

Looking to the future, the book’s third and final section describes the types of missions the new corps of astronauts will fly and the customers who will employ them. It begins with an assessment of suborbital flights to carry out a variety of high-altitude science studies and moves on to examine orbital science missions on commercial trips to low Earth orbit. It concludes with speculation on ways future commercial astronauts could support private enterprises at interplanetary spaceports, lunar bases, and outposts on the surface of Mars.

About Astronauts4Hire:
Astronauts for Hire, Inc. (A4H) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation whose objectives are to provide opportunities for students and professionals to develop and refine the skills necessary to become commercial astronauts and to assist these qualified candidates with networking opportunities in the space research community. A4H's commercial astronaut candidates are accomplished scientists and engineers who can support a wide variety of payloads. They are available today for contract and consulting work with researchers to design and conduct experiments on microgravity, suborbital, and orbital missions. For more information, please visit www.Astronauts4Hire.org or contact Public Relations Officer Ben Corbin at media[at]astronauts4hire.org or at (850) 685-2218.

About Springer Praxis Books:
The Springer Praxis series on Space Exploration covers all aspects of human and robotic exploration, in Earth orbit and on the Moon and planets. These books tell “behind the scenes” stories of early missions, both manned and unmanned, covering the human and engineering aspects of the space programs of all the leading spacefaring nations. Accounts of planetary exploration encompass the very early missions through to the very latest results received from space probes to the planets and their moons. For more information, please visit www.springer.com or contact Megan Ernst at megan.ernst[at]springer.com or at (212) 460-1511.

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Interested parties can download and distribute the press release as a MS Word or Adobe PDF document.

A4H Newsletter Issue #2

2012-03-30T09:00:00.000-04:00

We are proud to present Astronauts4Hire's second quarterly newsletter The A4H News. Highlights in this issue include interviews with A4H Training Officer Dr. Erik Seedhouse and former astronaut Col. Jim Voss, an announcement of the new book Astronauts for Hire, recaps of recent A4H activities, and the most important news in the commercial spaceflight industry.

Click below to view the newsletter in full screen mode, or download the PDF.

Like this? Sign up to receive email notifications for future issues of The A4H News, or contact us to learn about advertising opportunities.

Did you miss the first issue of the newsletter? Check it out here!

Women in Aerospace

2012-03-23T13:39:00.000-04:00

In celebration of Women's History Month, NASA conducted a one day conference titled "Women, Innovation and Aerospace" (WIA) at George Washington University on March 8th. A4H Associate Member Kavya Manyapu represented Boeing at the event, which highlighted women's contributions to innovation and progress in the aerospace community. The conference also focused on issues and challenges faced by women in the aerospace workforce, which is primarily dominated by men. The aim of the conference was to inspire and encourage young girls to enter science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) professions. In the photo below, Kayva (right) and her colleague are pictured with NASA Administrator and former astronaut Charles Bolden.

According to a 2010 National Science Board study, women comprise less than 25% of the workforce in STEM fields. Women@NASA comprise one third of the space agency's employees, making NASA one of the largest employers of women aerospace professionals. However, only 53 of the 500 astronauts who have flown in space were women. Therefore, it is imperative that an effort be made to not only encourage young women into STEM fields but also to break down existing workforce barriers using innovative strategies to inspire, recruit, and retain women in STEM careers.

A4H shares this value and is open to prospective astronauts of any gender or nationality. Currently, 22 of A4H's 85 members are female. We are proud of Kavya's participation in the WIA conference and the valuable role she plays both within A4H and as a flight test engineer in the Boeing Commercial Crew Space Program. Like many other A4H members, Kavya has participated in a simulated Mars mission at the Mars Desert Research Station. We'll leave you with a documentary video (in French) featuring her activities there.

NSRC 2012

2012-03-10T03:31:00.000-05:00

The 2012 Next-Generation Suborbital Researchers Conference (NSRC) was held in Palo Alto, California last week. Like its predecessors that gave rise to Astronauts4Hire (A4H), this year's NSRC provided a stimulating environment for approximately 450 attendees to discuss research and educational applications on suborbital vehicles. A record 34 organizations, including A4H, sponsored the meeting, which boasted a rare keynote address by Apollo Astronaut and X-15 Test Pilot Neil Armstrong, who is pictured with A4H Flight Members Seedhouse, Shiro, Altman, and Reimuller below. Armstrong's participation in the conference signified the growing relevance and importance of suborbital spaceflight.

More than a dozen A4H members and partners presented on a number of topics ranging from A4H's two years of remarkable growth to its commercial astronaut training programs. It seemed like hardly a session at the meeting passed without someone affiliated with A4H presenting. The photos below highlight talks given by Brian Shiro and Dr. Erik Seedhouse and posters presented by Dr. Mindy Howard and Brian Shiro with their co-authors. A full listing of A4H-related presentations given at NSRC is in our January 24 press release.

A4H partners spoke about several A4H-related projects too. Dr. Ravi Komatireddy of Vital Space presented twice on the new Sotera Wireless Visi Mobile^TM biometric monitoring system and the upcoming parabolic flights with A4H test subjects. Janna Kaplan of the Ashton Graybiel Spatial Orientation Laboratory presented twice on the space motion sickness and disorientation training protocols developed jointly with A4H. Dr. Andrew Blaber of the SFU Aerospace Physiology Lab presented a proposed joint human factors training and research initiative with A4H too. Komatireddy and Kaplan are pictured below.

NSRC is the premier gathering of suborbital researchers, educators, and spaceflight operators. Therefore, it is a prime venue for media coverage related to those areas too. A4H issued two press releases in connection with NSRC. The first announced our upcoming parabolic flight campaign with partner Vital Space through the NASA Flight Opportunities Program, and the second outlined the proposed A4H Research Specialist and Operations Specialist Astronaut qualifications. In addition, A4H President Brian Shiro was interviewed for the March 2 episode of The Space Show, which you can conveniently listen to below (starting at approximately the 30-minute mark).

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Other notable announcements at the 2012 NSRC included the NASTAR Center's new training courses, SwRI and XCOR's flight testing partnership, XCOR secured funding to build it Lynx vehicle and announced its new Lynx payload integrators, and Virgin Galactic teamed up with Nanoracks to fly research payloads. The event was rounded out with an informative NASA Flight Opportunities panel (featuring the Vital Space-A4H project) and inspirational keynotes by Virgin Galactic chief pilot David MacKay, Challenger Center for Space Science Education founder Dr. June Scobee Rogers, and FAA Associate Administrator Dr. George Nield.

While the past two NSRC's dealt with the "why" and "how" of suborbital research, this year's gathering focused more on "what" applications can be carried out on suborbital platforms. A4H continues to help lead the way as the industry matures, and we are happy to have had such a strong presence at NSRC 2012. We thank all of the organizers at SwRI and the CSF for putting on such superb conference.

Press Release: Astronauts4Hire Announces its Commercial Astronaut Training Programs

2012-02-27T08:00:00.000-05:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 27, 2012

Astronauts4Hire Announces its Commercial Astronaut Training Programs

Palo Alto, California – After more than a year of development, Astronauts for Hire (A4H) is proud to announce its proposed training programs for Research Specialist Astronauts and Operations Specialist Astronauts. These programs, which were developed by the nonprofit in close consultation with former NASA astronauts and astronaut instructors, are the most comprehensive commercial scientist-astronaut training guidelines available in the world.

"Astronauts for Hire is proud to have integrated the expertise of experienced spaceflight professionals and top-notch training providers into a comprehensive, yet cost-effective, training program that will produce the world’s best-prepared commercial scientist-astronauts," remarked A4H Chief Operating Officer Dr. Jason Reimuller. "We will publish a full description of the training qualifications in a peer-reviewed journal and thorough training manual later this year." Interested reviewers of the draft manuscripts are encouraged to contact A4H by April 2012.

A4H Training Officer Dr. Erik Seedhouse, who has authored books on astronaut training, led the collaborative initiative to develop A4H’s training program. "Space is a dangerous and extreme environment that leaves little to no room for error, or time to correct for mistakes," said Seedhouse. "To test how quickly and creatively our astronauts can think and work with others under life-threatening conditions, they must train across multiple realistic environments."

A4H astronaut candidates follow a progressive, integrated training program, conducted in safe analog environments that emphasize the ability to perform missions effectively during all phases of flight as well as in emergency contingencies. Those selected as A4H astronaut candidates possess a unique combination of established scientific expertise, broad technical and operational skills, a history showing adaptability in challenging environments. Individuals then qualified as A4H astronauts are fully trained to meet the needs of the research and education market.

Research Specialist Astronauts are trained to be effective payload operators. They must hold a Masters degree or equivalent from an accredited institution in a relevant field of science or engineering. Training elements include centrifuge training to prepare for launch and reentry, microgravity training on parabolic flights, high altitude training to identify personal hypoxia symptoms, distraction avoidance training, unusual attitude training using aerobatic aircraft to develop spatial awareness in flight, emergency egress training to prepare for an off-nominal landing, a personal space motion sickness assessment, basic SCUBA certification for experience in a space analog environment, and completion of academic modules covering the space environment, human performance, life support systems, and spacecraft systems engineering.

Operations Specialist Astronauts will be qualified to support a wide range of mission objectives beyond payload operation. They will manage and oversee mission operations, prioritize operational and research objectives, help operate spacecraft systems, handle emergencies, and ensure the overall success of a mission and the safety of those on board. Operations Specialist candidates undergo a much broader training program compared with Research Specialists. In addition to meeting all Research Specialist requirements, the candidate must earn a Private Pilot certificate, complete aerobatic training geared around adaptability to rapidly changing G-environments, train for land and sea survival, earn advanced SCUBA certification at the Master Diver level or equivalent, obtain space motion sickness desensitization training, maintain current emergency first responder certification or equivalent, and complete a comprehensive selection of academic modules focusing on a wide breadth of knowledge including crew management, mission planning and operations, science applications, spacecraft subsystems, and navigation.

A4H Flight Members completing either training program will earn silver A4H wings corresponding to the appropriate qualification, which will be upgraded to gold wings upon the completion of their first space flights. Any person who completes all A4H training elements and has not been formally selected as an A4H Flight Member may petition for recognition of the training, which will result in the awarding of bronze wings. The first class of A4H astronaut candidates underwent training in July 2011, and those qualified as Research Specialist Astronauts will be announced by Summer 2012.

About Astronauts4Hire:
Astronauts for Hire, Inc. (A4H) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation whose objectives are to provide opportunities for students and professionals to develop and refine the skills necessary to become commercial astronauts and to assist these qualified candidates with networking opportunities in the space research community. A4H's commercial astronaut candidates are accomplished scientists and engineers who can support a wide variety of payloads. They are available today for contract and consulting work with researchers to design and conduct experiments on microgravity, suborbital, and orbital missions. For more information, please visit www.Astronauts4Hire.org or contact Public Relations Officer Ben Corbin at media[at]astronauts4hire.org or at (850) 685-2218.

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Press Release: Astronauts4Hire and Vital Space Team Up for Biometric Monitoring Flights

2012-02-22T08:00:00.000-05:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 22, 2012

Astronauts4Hire and Vital Space Team Up for Biometric Monitoring Flights

Tampa, Florida – Astronauts4Hire and partner company Vital Space will test a new biometric monitoring system designed for use by spaceflight participants on a May 2012 reduced gravity parabolic flight campaign in Houston, Texas. They will undergo up to four flights with 40 parabolas each granting 25 seconds of near zero-gravity. The project is facilitated by NASA’s Flight Opportunities Program, to which Vital Space and Astronauts4Hire submitted a successful joint proposal chosen by NASA in October 2011 titled, "A demonstrated application of a cost effective and novel platform for non-invasive acquisition of physiologic variables from spaceflight participant candidates."

"The growth of suborbital spaceflight reflects a unique opportunity to capture and quantify the physiologic variables related to human performance in demanding environments," said Vital Space President and project Principal Investigator Dr. Ravi Komatireddy. "Given recent advancements in wireless medical devices, real time acquisition and monitoring of physiologic data is now possible. We are proud to be working with Astronauts4Hire to test the ViSi Mobile^TM Monitoring Platform for use by spaceflight participants."

The ViSi Mobile^TM System from Sotera Wireless has the capability to reliably capture critical physiological metrics such as continuous noninvasive blood pressure, arterial oxygen saturation, heart rate, respiratory rate, skin temperature and multi-lead electrocardiogram. Additional data from integrated accelerometers and a display will be used to remotely view, control, and assess physiologic response.

The upcoming initial parabolic flight tests will be used to collect performance and operational data on Astronauts4Hire research subjects, under direct supervision of members of the Vital Space team. The data will aid in the assessment of preflight fitness, in-flight physiological dynamics, and post-flight physiological recovery for spaceflight participants.

The May 2012 flights will be Astronauts4Hire's second microgravity research project. In February 2011, Astronauts4Hire carried out its first research flight with Vostok Pty Ltd to investigate the effects of alcohol absorption in microgravity.

About Astronauts4Hire:
Astronauts for Hire, Inc. (A4H) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation whose objectives are to provide opportunities for students and professionals to develop and refine the skills necessary to become commercial astronauts and to assist these qualified candidates with networking opportunities in the space research community. A4H's commercial astronaut candidates are accomplished scientists and engineers who can support a wide variety of payloads. They are available today for contract and consulting work with researchers to design and conduct experiments on microgravity, suborbital, and orbital missions. For more information, please visit www.Astronauts4Hire.org or contact Public Relations Officer Ben Corbin at media[at]astronauts4hire.org or at (850) 685-2218.

About Vital Space:
Vital Space is a new space startup that aims to apply state of the art mobile health technology, analytics, and multidisciplinary clinical expertise to capture human performance during aerospace training and flight. The physiologic data captured from clients will be used to validate health technology, provide clients with tools to visualize and enrich their flight experience, and further research by helping to create medical risk models for commercial spaceflight. Additionally, information regarding human performance and medical device technology will be explored for potential utility in clinical medicine and research. The upcoming parabolic flight will serve as the first opportunity to test an innovative medical device on commercial spaceflight candidates. Vital Space is working in cooperation with the Silicon Valley Space Center. For more information contact Ravi Komatireddy at ravikomatireddy1[at]gmail.com or Sean Casey at sean.casey[at]siliconvalleyspacecenter.org.

About Sotera Wireless:
Sotera Wireless, Inc. is a San Diego based medical device company dedicated to development, marketing and sale of a new generation of comprehensive vital signs monitoring. Sotera is the ancient Greek term for savior: Sotera’s mission is to improve patient safety by empowering clinicians to detect signs of deterioration in virtually any care setting and enable early intervention and rapid response,without limiting the patient’s freedom of movement. The company’s first product, the ViSi MobileTM System is currently under Federal Drug Administration (FDA) review. More information on this product and Sotera Wireless can be obtained at www.soterawireless.com or by sending an email to info[at]soterawireless.com.

About NASA Flight Opportunities Program:
The NASA Flight Opportunities Program intends to mature to flight readiness status crosscutting technologies that advance multiple future space missions. It provides frequent flight opportunities to demonstrate and develop technology payloads on both parabolic aircraft and suborbital reusable launch vehicles for reduced gravity or near-space flights. Flight Opportunities is part of the Space Technology Program within NASA's Office of the Chief Technologist and is managed at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center in Edwards, CA. NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, CA manages the payload activities for the program. For more information, please visit www.flightopportunities.nasa.gov. The October 2011 NASA press release announcing the Vital Space flight opportunity is available at http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2011/oct/HQ_11-331_CCC_Payload.txt.

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Press Release: Astronauts4Hire Sponsors 2012 Next-generation Suborbital Researchers Conference

2012-01-24T09:00:00.000-05:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 24, 2012

Astronauts4Hire Sponsors 2012 Next-generation Suborbital Researchers Conference

Tampa, Florida – Astronauts4Hire is pleased to announce that it has become a sponsor of the 2012 Next-generation Suborbital Researchers Conference (NSRC) to be held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel and Resort in Palo Alto, California from February 27-29, 2012. The NSRC will bring together researchers from government, industry, and academia in the largest forum of its kind focused on the research and education capabilities of new suborbital vehicles.

"Astronauts4Hire grew out of NSRC-2010 and was a NSRC-2011 sponsor," said Brian Shiro, President and CEO of Astronauts4Hire, "so it is fitting that we will once again support the suborbital research community by sponsoring the NSRC-2012. This will be a prime opportunity for A4H to demonstrate how far it's come in its second year and where it's going in the future."

Several members and partners of Astronauts4Hire will attend the conference, giving presentations on a range of topics, including the following:

Sunday, February 26 (19:30-21:00, Prefunction Area)
Poster: “Measuring Ion Currents and Electric Fields Caused by Earthquakes, Volcanoes, and Lightning in the Mesosphere” by Brian Shiro, et al. Abstract available at http://www.boulder.swri.edu/NSRC2012/Site1//PDF/Shiro-AIA.pdf
Sunday, February 26 (19:30-21:00, Prefunction Area)
Poster: “Peak Experience: Optimizing the Conditions of Inner Space for Outer Space” by Mindy Howard, et al. Abstract available at http://www.boulder.swri.edu/NSRC2012/Site1//PDF/Howard-FT.pdf
Monday, February 27 (lunch break, Mykonos Meeting Room)
Press Conference: Astronauts4Hire will make some exciting announcements.
Monday, February 27 (15:15-15:30, Mediterranean B Ballroom)
Presentation: “Biomedical Monitoring for Suborbital Scientist Astronauts” by Erik Seedhouse, et al. Abstract available at http://www.boulder.swri.edu/NSRC2012/Site1//PDF/Seedhouse-LS.pdf
Tuesday, February 28 (09:00-09:30, Mediterranean B Ballroom)
Presentation: “Polar Mesospheric Cloud Studies from Next-Generation Suborbital Vehicles” by Jason Reimuller, et al. Abstract available at http://www.boulder.swri.edu/NSRC2012/Site1//PDF/Reimuller-ATM.pdf
Tuesday, February 28 (09:15-09:30, Mediterranean C Ballroom)
Presentation: “Suborbital Spaceflight Training: Parabolic Flight Analog Environment” by Janna Kaplan, et al. Abstract available at http://www.boulder.swri.edu/NSRC2012/Site1//PDF/Kaplan-PSRP.pdf
Tuesday, February 28 (09:45-10:00, Mediterranean C Ballroom)
Presentation: “The Perfect Fit: Parabolic Flight Testing A Novel Biosensor Package” by Ravi Komatireddy, et al. Abstract available at http://www.boulder.swri.edu/NSRC2012/Site1//PDF/Komatireddy-LS.pdf
Tuesday, February 28 (11:15-11:30, Mediterranean C Ballroom)
Presentation: “Development of an Integrated Human Factors Research and Training Program in Canada” by Andrew Blaber and Stephen Braham. Abstract available at http://www.boulder.swri.edu/NSRC2012/Site1//PDF/Blaber-FT.pdf
Tuesday, February 28 (11:45-12:00, Mediterranean C Ballroom)
Presentation: “Fitness Assessment and Exercise Training for Suborbital Scientist Astronauts” by Erik Seedhouse, et al. Abstract available at http://www.boulder.swri.edu/NSRC2012/Site1//PDF/Seedhouse-FT.pdf
Tuesday, February 28 (14:45-15:00, Mediterranean B Ballroom)
Presentation: “Ukrainian Space Research on Commercial Suborbital Platforms - Opportunities for International Cooperation” by Sergiy Ponomarenko. Abstract available at http://www.boulder.swri.edu/NSRC2012/Site1//PDF/Ponomarenko-MPO.pdf
Tuesday, February 28 (15:30-15:45, Mediterranean B Ballroom)
Presentation: “Developing Astronauts4Hire: The First Two Years” by Brian Shiro and Jason Reimuller. Abstract available at http://www.boulder.swri.edu/NSRC2012/Site1//PDF/Shiro-MPO.pdf
Wednesday, February 29 (11:15-11:30, Mediterranean B Ballroom)
Presentation: “Training commercial astronauts for spaceflight: Space motion sickness, disorientation, and altered force environments” by Janna Kaplan, et al. Abstract available at http://www.boulder.swri.edu/NSRC2012/Site1//PDF/Kaplan-LS.pdf
Wednesday, February 29 (14:35-14:43, Mediterranean Ballroom)
Workshop on NASA Flight Opportunities Program: “Application of a Cost Effective Novel Platform for Non-Invasive Acquisition of Physiological Variables from Spaceflight Participant Candidates” by Ravi Komatireddy

About Astronauts4Hire:
Astronauts for Hire, Inc. (A4H) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation whose objectives are to provide opportunities for students and professionals to develop and refine the skills necessary to become commercial astronauts and to assist these qualified candidates with networking opportunities in the space research community. A4H's commercial astronaut candidates are accomplished scientists and engineers who can support a wide variety of payloads. They are available today for contract and consulting work with researchers to design and conduct experiments on microgravity, suborbital, and orbital missions. For more information, please visit www.Astronauts4Hire.org or contact Public Relations Officer Ben Corbin at media[at]astronauts4hire.org or at (850) 685-2218.

About the NSRC:
Organized by the Suborbital Applications Researchers Group of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, the Next-generation Suborbital Research Conference (NSRC) provides a forum to learn about opportunities that new suborbital vehicles offer for research and education missions in the fields of atmospheric science, solar physics, microgravity science, planetary science, space life science, space physics, and outreach. The NSRC will be held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel and Resort in Palo Alto, CA from February 27 through 29, 2012. For more information, visit the NSRC website at http://nsrc.swri.org.

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A4H Newsletter Issue #1

2012-01-06T08:06:00.000-05:00

The first issue of The A4H News is here! Learn more about where we come from, where are we headed, and how can you help! Highlights of this issue include interviews with A4H President Brian Shiro and former astronaut Dr. Scott Parazynski, along with recaps of A4H activities and the most important news in the commercial spaceflight industry.

Click below to view the newsletter in full screen mode, or download the PDF.

Like this? Sign up to receive email notifications for future issues of The A4H News, or contact us to learn about advertising opportunities. We wish everyone all the best in 2012!

Season's Greetings from A4H

2011-12-20T14:58:00.000-05:00

Dear friends of Astronauts4Hire,

In less than two years, A4H has made great strides as it fulfills its mission to build the next generation astronaut workforce. We'd like to express our profound gratitude to everyone who has made 2011 a breakout year of growth and success for A4H. Thanks to the support of A4H members, partners, and sponsors, we have achieved a lot in the past year, including:

Earning our 501(c)(3) non-profit status.
Partnering with Survival Systems USA and the Ashton Graybiel Spatial Orientation Laboratory.
Completing Emergency Egress, Sea Survival, and Suborbital Scientist training.
Completing our first research contract and garnering worldwide media attention.
Being featured in many respected publications, including Discover, Nature, New Scientist, and Aviation Week & Space Technology.
Expanding our team of Flight Members and Associate Members to 76 (and counting).
Joining the Commercial Spaceflight Federation.
Hosting our first public webinar on astronaut selection.

Looking forward to 2012, we will continue to mature our training program, advance space research, and provide inspiration to aspiring astronauts of all ages. If you believe in the exciting potential of A4H and want to support our innovative leadership in the commercial spaceflight industry, please consider making a tax-deductible year-end gift to help lay a strong foundation for A4H in 2012. Just click the "Donate" button on our website, or contact us.

On behalf of everyone at Astronauts4Hire, I wish you a happy holiday season and successful New Year!

Warm regards,
Brian Shiro
President & CEO, Astronauts4Hire

A4H Webinar on Astronaut Selection

2011-12-15T21:07:00.000-05:00

Duane Ross (credit NASA)

The fundamental purpose of Astronauts4Hire is to provide for the needs of aspiring astronauts. While we are focused primarily on commercial spaceflight opportunities, a number of our members are also keenly interested in becoming NASA astronauts. With NASA's recent announcement that it is looking for new Astronaut Candidates, we thought there would be no better way to launch our public webinar capability with Fuze Meeting than by hosting a conversation on the current NASA opportunity with the Astronaut Selection Office. We are grateful that NASA's Astronaut Selection Manager Mr. Duane Ross participated in the event as our special guest expert.

The event was well-attended by 100 interested potential astronaut applicants, who were all encouraged to submit questions beforehand. We compiled the 100+ questions received into the top 20 to provide the main structure for the conversation. An open question and answer period at the end provided a further opportunity for guests to ask questions. The full list of questions and detailed notes describing Mr. Ross' responses are available as a PDF download.

Related Media Stories:

Press Release: Astronauts4Hire Announces FuzeBox Support and Public Webinar for Astronaut Applicants

2011-12-12T07:01:00.000-05:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

December 12, 2011

Astronauts4Hire Announces FuzeBox Support and Public Webinar for Astronaut Applicants

Tampa, Florida – Astronauts4Hire is pleased to welcome Fuzebox, Inc. to its growing list of supporters helping to further its mission to develop the next generation of astronauts. FuzeBox has granted the non-profit organization a professional-level license for its Fuze Meeting video conferencing and collaboration product. "Fuze Meeting provides a facet of communication essential for Astronauts4Hire," remarked Astronauts4Hire CTO Amnon Govrin. "It enables productive high-quality voice and video meetings among members within the organization."

FuzeBox is a personal telepresence and visual collaboration SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) company whose vision is to empower global professionals with visual collaboration, real-time communication, community, and presence on any platform. Its flagship product is Fuze Meeting, which enables cloud-based multi-party web conferencing and an easy user interface. With its members spread out across the Americas, Europe, and Asia, Astronauts4Hire relies upon the Fuze Meeting virtual collaboration tool to connect its members as it builds the suborbital frontier.

In addition to its role in facilitating internal communications within the Astronauts4Hire organization, Fuze Meeting is also a valuable public outreach tool. Astronauts4Hire will be hosting its first public webinar with the software at 3 p.m. EST on December 15, 2011. Mr. Duane Ross of the NASA Astronaut Selection Office will be the featured guest, providing insight and answering questions for anyone planning to apply for NASA’s current astronaut candidate application opportunity. Interested participants can RSVP and join the online meeting at http://a4h.eventbrite.com. Registration is limited to 100 attendees, but an audio recording will be available on the Astronauts4Hire website after the event.

"Along with Astronauts4Hire, we’re excited to be contributing to the launch of a new era of commercial space travel and exploration," said FuzeBox CEO Jeff Cavins. "Our intuitive, user-friendly software allows them to concentrate on their real mission, without the need for a lot of expensive equipment and training. In fact, Fuze Meeting makes videoconferencing and collaboration as easy as clicking on an email invitation link."

For its support of Astronauts4Hire, FuzeBox becomes an Astronauts4Hire Orbital Level sponsor. Astronauts4Hire thanks FuzeBox for generously supporting the growth of the commercial spaceflight industry. Sponsorship and donation inquiries can be sent to donate[at]astronauts4hire.org.

About Astronauts4Hire:
Astronauts for Hire, Inc. (A4H) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation whose objectives are to provide opportunities for students and professionals to develop and refine the skills necessary to become commercial astronauts and to assist these qualified candidates with networking opportunities in the space research community. A4H's commercial astronaut candidates are accomplished scientists and engineers who can support a wide variety of payloads. They are available today for contract and consulting work with researchers to design and conduct experiments on microgravity, suborbital, and orbital missions. For more information, please visit www.Astronauts4Hire.org or contact Public Relations Officer Ben Corbin at media[at]astronauts4hire.org or at (850) 685-2218.

About FuzeBox:
FuzeBox is the global leader in real-time visual collaboration applications for millions of end users across various businesses. Its applications – Fuze Meeting and Fuze Telepresence Connect, allow people to communicate, collaborate and share content from any device, across any network, anywhere in the world. Fuze Meeting is a mobile and web-based collaboration service that features integrated audio conferencing as well as high-definition, synchronized video and image sharing. Fuze Telepresence Connect is a cloud-based solution that eliminates the interoperability problem inherent in proprietary telepresence and video conferencing systems, enabling all devices including mobile tablets, to inter-operate with telepresence environments. The company’s technology is based on a real-time visual communications platform that converges telephony, high-definition, synchronized video and image sharing across the enterprise, the web and mobile networks. For more information, please visit www.fuzebox.com.

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A4H member featured in New Scientist magazine

2011-12-05T20:52:00.001-05:00

A4H Flight Member Melania Guerra has always dreamed of being an astronaut. As this week's issue of New Scientist reports, she is using her background working in extreme environments along with her training through Astronauts4Hire to achieve that lifelong goal in the post-Shuttle era of spaceflight. The article titled "Aiming for the Stars" is in the current issue on newsstands now.

As the world's #1 science and technology news service, New Scientist is the most widely circulated science publication with a global readership of nearly 900,000. The article is available online or on newsstands this week in the 3 December 2011 issue (Issue 2841). A PDF version of the article is also available for download from the A4H website. New Scientist last featured A4H through its "One Minute with Brian Shiro" interview in July 2010. A4H thanks New Scientist for taking an interest in A4H's contribution to the developing commercial spaceflight industry.

A4H members talk TED, chase dreams, and jump out of airplanes

2011-10-22T02:10:00.000-04:00

A4H members are involved in a number of worthwhile endeavors outside the Astronauts4Hire organization. Today, we'll highlight a few recent examples.

Flight Member Melania Guerra, who recently completed her Ph.D. in oceanography, spoke at the September 2011 TEDxJoven@PuraVida event in San José, Costa Rica. Her presentation titled "Realizando Sueños en Ambientes Extremos" (Fulfilling Dreams in Extreme Environments) focused on her passion for exploration of extreme environments from the seafloor to space, including how Astronauts4Hire helps her achieve her goals. You can watch the video below, but note that it is in Spanish.

Melania isn't the only A4H member with ties to the TED organization. Earlier this year, Associate Member Luke Hutchison was selected as a TED2011 Fellow and participated in the "TED2011: The Rediscovery of Wonder" conference in Long Beach, California.

YouTube made big waves last week with its announcement of the YouTube Space Lab initiative. The exciting competition will allow a few winning teenagers to fly their experiments on the International Space Station next year. Flight Member Luis Zea is a Ph.D. student at the University of Colorado who works at BioServe Space Technologies developing hardware that will fly on YouTube Space Lab missions. He has previously supported payloads on Space Shuttle and ISS missions as well. In the video below, Luis describes the OptiCell Processing Module, which is one of the four hardware options students have to choose from for YouTube Space Lab experiments.

Luis also recently gave a tour of Sierra Nevada Corporation's Dream Chaser mockup from his lab at the University of Colorado. The Dream Chaser is being developed under NASA's Commercial Crew and Cargo Development (CCDev) program to take astronauts to the International Space Station. Luis describes his role in supporting the the Dream Chaser in the video below.

In other news, A4H members are involved with many other exciting projects from the bottom of the oceans to the skies above. Associate member Eddie Kisfaludy, recently completed field tests of the Virgin Oceanic submarine off the coast of Mexico. Read all about his role as Operations Manager of Virgin Oceanic in his exclusive AstronautforHire.com interview.

Flight Member José Hurtado, a geology professor at the University of Texas El Paso, has spent the past three summers training NASA astronaut candidates in field geology through the NASA Desert RATS (DRATS) program. He recently spent two weeks living alongside astronauts in NASA's Deep Space Habitat to test asteroid exploration scenarios using the SEV rovers. Read José's DRATS blog post or check out his Facebook video describing how to break into a NASA career as a geologist.

Some A4H members even like to intentionally jump out of perfectly good airplanes from time to time. Flight Member Laura Stiles spends her weekends working as a USPA Coach Instructor. Other certified A4H skydivers include Training Officer Erik Seedhouse, Associate Member Jon Boley, and Associate Member Scott Lanham, who is is an experienced military HALO paratrooper. The newest A4H skydiver is Flight Member Ben Corbin, who spent the summer earning his USPA Class A skydiving license. You can watch Ben's final check dive in the video below.

Even though skydiving is not part of A4H’s astronaut training curriculum, it is provides valuable lessons for handling oneselve in a stressful, physically-demanding environment where there are severe penalties for failure. Time to conduct experiments on suborbital spaceflights or parabolic microgravity flights is very limited, and skydiving jumps have similar time restrictions that underscore the importance of planning and rehearsing in order to successfully meet your goals. A typical jump from an altitude of 14,000 feet gives a skydiver approximately one minute of freefall time. For comparison, a single parabola on board a microgravity flight is up to 30 seconds, and the entire weightlessness time on a suborbital flight is up to 5 minutes.

Press Release: Astronauts4Hire Granted 501(c)(3) Nonprofit Status

2011-09-12T14:32:00.000-04:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 12, 2011

Astronauts4Hire Granted 501(c)(3) Nonprofit Status

Tampa, Florida – Astronauts4Hire is proud to announce it is now officially a public charity with tax-exempt status under Section 501(c)(3) of the United States Internal Revenue Code. Contributions donated to Astronauts4Hire are fully tax-deductible retroactive to the founding of the organization on April 12, 2010. Astronauts4Hire is also now eligible to apply for government and foundation grants, which will further broaden its access to resources and strengthen its ability to serve the commercial spaceflight industry.

"Obtaining 501(c)(3) status is a major milestone for Astronauts4Hire," remarked President and Co-founder Brian Shiro. "This opens many doors for us to expand fundraising activities and fully realize our goals as a charitable educational organization facilitating the training and professional development needs of astronaut candidates. In doing so, we will create a new generation of astronauts prepared for the era of commercial spaceflight, advance space research, raise awareness of space exploration benefits, and inspire youth to pursue careers in science and technology."

Supporting its educational mission, Astronauts4Hire has developed a comprehensive training curriculum to prepare its members for the rigors of spaceflight. Members training through the Astronauts4Hire organization enjoy cost savings compared with undergoing equivalent training programs independently. They can also gain important operational experience as contract researchers carrying out experiments or operating payloads for clients on microgravity and suborbital flights. Representative areas of expertise in the Astronauts4Hire organization span medicine, biology, chemistry, physics, geology, remote sensing, astronomy, and most fields of engineering.

The Astronauts4Hire Tax Identification Number (EID) is 27-2360828. The IRS letter granting Astronauts4Hire its 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status is available upon request. Donation inquiries can be sent to donate[at]astronauts4hire.org.

About Astronauts4Hire:
Astronauts for Hire, Inc. (A4H) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation whose objectives are to provide opportunities for students and professionals to develop and refine the skills necessary to become commercial astronauts and to assist these qualified candidates with networking opportunities in the space research community. A4H's commercial astronaut candidates are accomplished scientists and engineers who can support a wide variety of payloads. They are available today for contract and consulting work with researchers to design and conduct experiments on microgravity, suborbital, and orbital missions. For more information, please visit www.Astronauts4Hire.org or contact Public Relations Officer Ben Corbin at media[at]astronauts4hire.org or at (850) 685-2218.

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