Fat Astronauts - why not?

Why is it that astronauts have to be so fit. they are only enduring
high g stress for minutes on a mission. is a few minutes of 3g stress
going to kill someone if they are carrying extra weight? couldnt they
be trained in a centrifuge to deal with it? i ca undertand the pilots
being impacted but not the MS's.

On Mar 20, 1:04 pm, " wrote:
Why is it that astronauts have to be so fit. they are only enduring
high g stress for minutes on a mission. is a few minutes of 3g stress
going to kill someone if they are carrying extra weight? couldnt they
be trained in a centrifuge to deal with it? i ca undertand the pilots
being impacted but not the MS's.

1. Cost of sending the mass to orbit.

2. there is no centrifuge training anymore and anyways, "training"
wouldn't reduce the risks associated with the extra weight

3. Also the selection criteria weeds out overweight people. Not
directly, but by the other qualities they are looking for: driven,
overachieving, health conscience etc

" wrote:

Why is it that astronauts have to be so fit. they are only enduring
high g stress for minutes on a mission. is a few minutes of 3g stress
going to kill someone if they are carrying extra weight? couldnt they
be trained in a centrifuge to deal with it? i ca undertand the pilots
being impacted but not the MS's.

Because they also have to be capable of executing various emergency
egress procedures, etc... Launch stresses are only te half of it.

D.
--
Touch-twice life. Eat. Drink. Laugh.

http://derekl1963.livejournal.com/

-Resolved: To be more temperate in my postings.
Oct 5th, 2004 JDL

Why is it that astronauts have to be so fit.

Would the shuttle hatches (notably the airlock/docking to station) be a
concern with fatter people not fitting through ?

Once fitted with EVA suit or even ascent/entry suit, how obese would
someone have to be to not fit through those hatches ?

On 21 Mar 2008 20:04:36 GMT, nmp wrote:


2. there is no centrifuge training anymore and anyways, "training"
wouldn't reduce the risks associated with the extra weight

What, exactly, are these risks you speak of, if the "fatty" in question
is otherwise healthy?

There's no such thing. Those who claim otherwise are deluding
themselves.

Brian

On Mar 21, 4:04 pm, nmp wrote:
charliexmurphy wrote:
On Mar 20, 1:04 pm, " wrote:
Why is it that astronauts have to be so fit. they are only enduring
high g stress for minutes on a mission. is a few minutes of 3g stress
going to kill someone if they are carrying extra weight? couldnt they
be trained in a centrifuge to deal with it? i ca undertand the pilots
being impacted but not the MS's.

1. Cost of sending the mass to orbit.

How much more does it cost to send a 120 kg as opposed to a 80 kg
astronaut?

120kg is not fat


2. there is no centrifuge training anymore and anyways, "training"
wouldn't reduce the risks associated with the extra weight

What, exactly, are these risks you speak of, if the "fatty" in question
is otherwise healthy?

Define a fat healthy person? No such thing

3. Also the selection criteria weeds out overweight people. Not
directly, but by the other qualities they are looking for: driven,
overachieving, health conscience etc

You mean "jocks".

Wrong. They aren't jocks. Nerds are not jocks

I know fat people who are *very* driven in the things they do, don't you?

yes, it is called eating.

In reality, no. I don't any fat who are very driven in life (not just
a few things)


In other words: prejudices. It's hard to get rid of them.

wrong. No preju



And you miswrote "conscious". I would have almost asked if you think fat
people do not have a conscience...

On 21 Mar 2008 23:33:54 GMT, nmp wrote:

I honestly
believe that as long as a person is able to ride a bicycle for at least a
couple of hours, without getting tired, they are probably physically fit
enough to sit in a chair while being rocketed into orbit. It's not like
they have to do a lot of things during the ride, and up there, of course,
zero-g will be the great equaliser.

I don't think the issue is "can an overweight person fly in space?"
The answer is clearly yes. But the initial argument, at least the way
I read it, was "Why doesn't NASA have overweight astronauts?"

Its because training astronauts takes a lot of time and money (we can
argue whether they all need this training or whether we need so many
of them, but that is secondary to this question) and NASA wants to get
as much out of that investment as possible.

An overweight person is more likely to become ill with one malady or
another than a average-weight-for-height person. The medical community
is nearly unanimous on this point. If NASA gets to choose, they will
always choose the person closer to average weight, not someone who is
starting out already 20 lbs. overweight and that much closer to
developing a medical ailment than the "healthy" person.


Brian

On Mar 22, 10:38 am, nmp wrote:
charliexmurphy wrote:
On Mar 21, 4:04 pm, nmp wrote:

[..]

How much more does it cost to send a 120 kg as opposed to a 80 kg
astronaut?

120kg is not fat

Most people would disagree.

not for 76 inches

I have even heard people say that an adult
male of 1.80 m is "overweight" at 80 kg. Ridiculous.

Most people aren't medical experts

wrote:
On Mar 22, 10:38 am, nmp wrote:
charliexmurphy wrote:
On Mar 21, 4:04 pm, nmp wrote:
[..]

How much more does it cost to send a 120 kg as opposed to a 80 kg
astronaut?
120kg is not fat
Most people would disagree.

not for 76 inches


That would make a BMI of 32 if my math is correct. Definitely fat!!

--
th

On Mar 22, 4:20 pm, nmp wrote:
Brian Thorn wrote:
On 21 Mar 2008 23:33:54 GMT, nmp wrote:

I honestly
believe that as long as a person is able to ride a bicycle for at least
a couple of hours, without getting tired, they are probably physically
fit enough to sit in a chair while being rocketed into orbit. It's not
like they have to do a lot of things during the ride, and up there, of
course, zero-g will be the great equaliser.

I don't think the issue is "can an overweight person fly in space?" The
answer is clearly yes. But the initial argument, at least the way I read
it, was "Why doesn't NASA have overweight astronauts?"

OK.

Its because training astronauts takes a lot of time and money (we can
argue whether they all need this training or whether we need so many of
them, but that is secondary to this question)

I think it is quite central to the question.

and NASA wants to get as much out of that investment as possible.

An overweight person is more likely to become ill with one malady or
another than a average-weight-for-height person. The medical community
is nearly unanimous on this point.

Is it? Seriously overweight people are of course at higher risk for
cardiovascular problems, diabetes and such. But such conditions do not
develop in just a few days. If someone is healthy at the moment of
launch, I think it is as likely they will be healthy during the mission
as it is for other "passengers".

Space sickness excluded, but that happens to the best of them or so I
heard.

If NASA gets to choose, they will always choose the person closer to
average weight, not someone who is starting out already 20 lbs.
overweight and that much closer to developing a medical ailment than
the "healthy" person.

They all get checkups, right? Even the more athletic ones could have
hidden health problems.

It is the mental makeup of the person that NASA wants. And overweight
people don't fit, not because of their weight but their personality
traits