Old Astronauts4Hire Website

Flight member Laura Stiles recently represented Astronauts4Hire (A4H) at the Commercial Human Spaceflight Technical Forum , hosted by Special Aerospace Services in Boulder, Colorado. The invitation-only two-day event provided experts in human spaceflight a forum to discuss what is necessary for industry success, particularly in relation to NASA human rating certification, training, medical qualification, and FAA commercial spaceflight licensing. Distinguished speakers included leaders in the aerospace industry such as Wayne Hale, Dr. Alan Stern, Tim Bulk, NASA Astronauts, FAA representatives, to name a few. Attending the conference provided the opportunity to engage with people who are key to the Astronauts4Hire organization. For example, Laura met with former astronaut Scott Parazynski and many other accomplished and knowledgeable personnel who can potentially provide input to the A4H organization. Having an A4H representative at this forum was key to keeping at the forefront of t...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 27, 2010 Astronauts4Hire Seeks New Commercial Astronaut Candidates Tampa, Florida – Have you ever wanted to be an astronaut? Do you have specialized scientific, engineering, or operational experience relevant to human spaceflight? Now is your chance to make your dreams come true! Astronauts4Hire is seeking candidates to expand its cadre of prospective commercial astronauts. Applications are due February 5, 2011 for full consideration in this selection cycle. “Astronauts4Hire continues to grow along with the emerging private spaceflight sector,” says its President Brian Shiro. “We need more motivated, highly competent flight members to help build the organization and train for payload operation on upcoming missions.” Flight members are the “astronauts for hire” who are eligible to receive training support from the organization and be hired for flight jobs, including parabolic trajectory microgravity research flights. Astronauts4Hire’s training progr...

Astronauts4Hire's first job testing Vostok Space Beer in microgravity will have to wait until February. The parabolic trajectory flight was originally scheduled for November 19 but had been postponed to December 18 by the request of the flight provider. Unfortunately, the December flight was recalled due to poor weather. The next available opportunity will be in late February. All preparations for the experiment have gone smoothly, and everything is in order for when we receive the green light to fly. After our original September announcement of the contract to test beer in microgravity, Astronauts4Hire has received tremendous worldwide media attention .  We thank everyone who has shown an interest in this work and ask you to wait a while longer for the historic flight to take place. From all of us at Astronauts4Hire, Happy Holidays!  Great things are in store for commercial human spaceflight in the coming year.  Look for another announcement from us soon how you can...

Astronauts4Hire wishes to congratulate SpaceX on the successful launch of its Dragon spacecraft into low Earth orbit on a Falcon 9 rocket earlier today. The Dragon spent about 3 hours and 20 minutes orbiting the Earth twice before splashing down in the Pacific, where it was recovered . SpaceX joins a small club of only six space agencies that have successfully sent and recovered spacecraft from orbit. SpaceX founder and CEO/CTO Elon Musk said of the history-making accomplishment, "It's hard to be articulate when your mind is blown." He had previously estimated only a 60% success rate for the flight, which turned out being "100 percent successful." No astronauts were aboard the Dragon capsule for its maiden flight, but Musk remarked that if it had been crewed, "they would have had a very nice ride." Perhaps someday A4H crews will travel to orbit on the Dragon. This is good news for the future of human spaceflight. Through its COTS program , NA...

In an interview posted earlier today on the Space Business Blog , Astronauts4Hire President and co-founder Brian Shiro revealed for the first time some aspects of the A4H business plan. Topics in the interview ranged from the upcoming space beer test flight to A4H's long term growth strategy and range of services. We wish to thank Space Business Blog author Colin Doughan for his continued interest in A4H; he first wrote about us in an August 2010 post titled " The Astronaut Company ".

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 26, 2010 Astronauts4Hire offers limited time high profile Sponsorship Special Tampa, Florida – For a limited time, Astronauts4Hire is offering a Sponsorship Special leading up to its inaugural mission testing the world’s first beer brewed specifically for drinking in space. During this promotion, sponsors contributing $1,000 or more will receive a shoulder logo on the flight suit worn by the Astronaut4Hire researcher during the historic flight. Sponsors of $5,000 or more will receive a logo on the chest of the flight suit and mention in all future press releases regarding the flight. With the high level of media attention expected, sponsors will gain extensive exposure to national and international audiences. During the planned November 19, 2010 flight aboard Zero Gravity Corporation’s specially modified aircraft, the Astronauts4Hire flight researcher will sample the specially produced beer during periods of weightlessness and record biometric and qualit...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 12, 2010 Astronauts4Hire sponsors Next-generation Suborbital Researchers Conference Tampa, Florida – Astronauts4Hire is pleased to announce that it has become a sponsor of the 2011 Next-generation Suborbital Researchers Conference (NSRC) to be held in Orlando, Florida from February 28 through March 2, 2011. Brian Shiro, President and CEO of Astronauts4Hire, joined the conference's scientific organizing committee, chaired by Dr. Alan Stern of the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado. "Astronauts4Hire grew out of the 2010 NSRC," says Shiro, "so it is fitting that we give back to the suborbital research community by sponsoring the 2011 NSRC. This will be a prime opportunity for A4H to demonstrate how far it's come in its first year and where it's going in the future." During the conference, members of Astronauts4Hire will give presentations on the organization in general, its qualification standards for suborbit...