In article , John Penta wrote:

Newsflash: Most people, 99%, would never want to. Very few would ever
care if they could or not. They'd be damn happy to have some other guy
do it.

Hence, astronauts: The 1% who DO want to do more than sit on their ass
and who want to get into space; the 1% of THOSE who could actually
SURVIVE and WORK in space with any degree of competence.

Okay. There are ~280m. Americans. One percent of one percent is around
28,000 people... and maybe 300 have ever flown in space. Yes, I know
what you meant, but over a sufficiently large population even tiny
fractions add up.

Even if only one percent of one percent of the US population wants to
fly to space, that's still two orders of magnitude higher than are
likely to under the current circumstances (ie, as "astronauts").

Somehow, I
doubt many average people (assuming "average" physical fitness) could
sustain the G-forces of launch without either getting themselves
killed, or hurting themselves.

Hmm. What are the G-forces pulled on launch? I suspect from vague memory
they're nothing that a reasonably average (ie, not clinically obese,
asthmatic, or suffering any other notable problems) adult couldn't
handle with a modicum of training and possibly some assistance - padded
couch, or the like. (Aborts may be more interesting, though)

--
-Andrew Gray