January - Chinese Group 1 - China Chen Quan, Deng Qingming, Fèi Jùnlóng, Jing Haipeng, Liu Boming, Liu Wang, Niè Hǎishèng, Pan Zhanchun, Yang Liwei, Zhai Zhigang, Zhang Xiaoguan, Zhao Chuandong June 4 - NASA Group - USA Clayton Anderson, Lee Archambault, Tracy Caldwell, Gregory Chamitoff, Timothy Creamer, Léopold Eyharts, Christopher Ferguson, Michael Foreman, Michael Fossum, Kenneth Ham, Gregory C Johnson, Gregory H Johnson, Stanley Love, Leland Melvin, Barbara Morgan, Paolo Nespo ...

See also:

List of astronauts by selection, List of astronauts by selection - 1958, List of astronauts by selection - 1959, List of astronauts by selection - 1960, List of astronauts by selection - 1962, List of astronauts by selection - 1963, List of astronauts by selection - 1964, List of astronauts by selection - 1965, List of astronauts by selection - 1966, List of astronauts by selection - 1967, List of astronauts by selection - 1968, List of astronauts by selection - 1969, List of astronauts by selection - 1970, List of astronauts by selection - 1971, List of astronauts by selection - 1972, List of astronauts by selection - 1973, List of astronauts by selection - 1974, List of astronauts by selection - 1976, List of astronauts by selection - 1978, List of astronauts by selection - 1979, List of astronauts by selection - 1980, List of astronauts by selection - 1982, List of astronauts by selection - 1984, List of astronauts by selection - 1985, List of astronauts by selection - 1987, List of astronauts by selection - 1990, List of astronauts by selection - 1992, List of astronauts by selection - 1994, List of astronauts by selection - 1995, List of astronauts by selection - 1996, List of astronauts by selection - 1998, List of astronauts by selection - 2000, List of astronauts by selection - 2003, List of astronauts by selection - 2004

Read more here: » List of astronauts by selection: Encyclopedia II - List of astronauts by selection - 1998

Ancient Astronauts

Astronauts from other planets which allegedly visited Earth in spaceships in ancient times. This theory claims to explain Fortean mysteries and the evidence of ancient sophisticated technology, and primitive societies feats of engineering.

Ancient astronaut writers say also that Man did not evolve only from earthly beings like Adam and Eve. A misreading of Genesis leads one to believe that a second strain not from this world but from a 'heavenly source', was added to the human gene-pool (Genesis chapter

Devotees of this theory like to quote the myths and legends of ancient or primitive peoples in an attempt to justify their case. According to the folklore and mythology of many peoples, the gods gave fire and the skills of agriculture to mankind. However, this fact alone does not mean that the gods of the ancients were extraterrestrial beings, and that our ancestors were so simple minded that they could not have discovered these things by themselves.

In 1968 Erich von Däniken published a book, Chariots of the Gods?, in which he argued the ancient astronauts theory, presenting supposedly 'proof' of his claims. Zecharia Sitchin is a more modern author who claims to translated ancient Sumerian manuscripts which tell the story of Ancient Astronauts.

(See also: Ancient Astronauts, New Age Spirituality, Body Mind and Soul)

Ancient Astronauts

Astronauts from other planets which allegedly visited Earth in spaceships in ancient times. This theory claims to explain Fortean mysteries and the evidence of ancient sophisticated technology, and primitive societies feats of engineering.

Ancient astronaut writers say also that Man did not evolve only from earthly beings like Adam and Eve. A misreading of Genesis leads one to believe that a second strain not from this world but from a 'heavenly source', was added to the human gene-pool (Genesis chapter

Devotees of this theory like to quote the myths and legends of ancient or primitive peoples in an attempt to justify their case. According to the folklore and mythology of many peoples, the gods gave fire and the skills of agriculture to mankind. However, this fact alone does not mean that the gods of the ancients were extraterrestrial beings, and that our ancestors were so simple minded that they could not have discovered these things by themselves.

In 1968 Erich von DŠniken published a book, Chariots of the Gods?, in which he argued the ancient astronauts theory, presenting supposedly 'proof' of his claims. Zecharia Sitchin is a more modern author who claims to translated ancient Sumerian manuscripts which tell the story of Ancient Astronauts.

(See also: Ancient Astronauts, New Age Spirituality, Body Mind and Soul)

Duran Duran originally announced a reunion of the original five members in 2001, and began writing new music together in the south of France. They continued to write and record intermittently, working hard for a few months at a time, throughout 2002 and 2003. The band's friend Nile Rodgers did preliminary production work on several tracks. Meanwhile, the search for a record label went on, complicated by the band's desire for independence, control, strong promotional support, and a commitment for more than one album, at the same time t ...

See also:

Astronaut album, Astronaut album - Background, Astronaut album - The making of the album, Astronaut album - New deal new album, Astronaut album - Embracing new media, Astronaut album - Track listing, Astronaut album - Singles

Read more here: » Astronaut album: Encyclopedia II - Astronaut album - The making of the album

Each of the military services issues its own version of the Astronaut Badge which comprises a standard Aviator's Badge with an Astronaut Device (shooting star through a halo) centered on the badge's center. The United States Army and Air Force Astronaut Badges are issued in three degrees, those being basic, senior, and master. The Senior Astronaut Badge is denoted by a star centered above the decoration while the master level is indicated by a star and wreath. See also:

Astronaut Badge, Astronaut Badge - Military Badge, Astronaut Badge - United States Army, Astronaut Badge - United States Air Force, Astronaut Badge - United States Navy, Astronaut Badge - United States Marines, Astronaut Badge - United States Coast Guard, Astronaut Badge - Civilian Badge, Astronaut Badge - Astronaut Pin, Astronaut Badge - Qualifications, Astronaut Badge - Trivia

Read more here: » Astronaut Badge: Encyclopedia II - Astronaut Badge - Military Badge

Each of the military services issues its own version of the Astronaut Badge which comprises a standard Aviator's Badge with an Astronaut Device (shooting star through a halo) centered on the badge's center. The United States Army and Air Force Astronaut Badges are issued in three degrees, those being basic, senior, and master. The Senior Astronaut Badge is denoted by a star centered above the decoration while the master level is indicated by a star and wreath. See also:

Astronaut Badge, Astronaut Badge - Military Badge, Astronaut Badge - United States Army, Astronaut Badge - United States Air Force, Astronaut Badge - United States Navy, Astronaut Badge - United States Marines, Astronaut Badge - United States Coast Guard, Astronaut Badge - Civilian Badge, Astronaut Badge - Astronaut Pin, Astronaut Badge - Qualifications

Read more here: » Astronaut Badge: Encyclopedia II - Astronaut Badge - Military Badge

On 29 March 2005 Sony BMG reissued Astronaut on the burgeoning DualDisc format. This double sided disc included the CD version on one side and a remixed 5.1 DVD-Audio surround mix of the album on the other side. The DVD side also included a 25 minute program with new behind-the-scenes footage. On 20 December 2005, Astronaut was released on the SACD format. Similar to DualDisc, this release featured the album in three ...

See also:

Astronaut album, Astronaut album - Background, Astronaut album - The making of the album, Astronaut album - New deal new album, Astronaut album - Embracing new media, Astronaut album - Track listing, Astronaut album - Singles

Read more here: » Astronaut album: Encyclopedia II - Astronaut album - Embracing new media

Earlier sources — while generally not referencing ancient astronauts per se — suggest the creation of some monuments was beyond human means, such as Saxo Grammaticus' suggestion that giants had created Denmark's massive dolmens, or in tales that Merlin had assembled Stonehenge via magic. Evidence for ancient astronauts often consists of allegations that ancient monuments, such as the pyramids of Egypt, or Machu Picchu in Peru, could not have been built without technical abilities beyond those of people at that time. Such al ...

See also:

Ancient astronaut theory, Ancient astronaut theory - Adherents and evidence, Ancient astronaut theory - Earlier ideas, Ancient astronaut theory - Ancient astronauts in fiction

Read more here: » Ancient astronaut theory: Encyclopedia II - Ancient astronaut theory - Earlier ideas

Finally, after lengthy negotiations, the band signed a four-album deal with Epic Records (a subsidiary of Sony BMG Music Entertainment) in June of 2004. The songs were given a final polishing with producer Don Gilmore and then mixed by Jeremy Wheatley in June and July. R&B producer Dallas Austin produced three tracks on the album, and Nile Rodgers' early production work remains on another three. Limited copies of the new album were released with a bonus DVD which included 45 minutes of live and behind-the-scenes footage from Wembl ...

See also:

Astronaut album, Astronaut album - Background, Astronaut album - The making of the album, Astronaut album - New deal new album, Astronaut album - Embracing new media, Astronaut album - Track listing, Astronaut album - Singles

Read more here: » Astronaut album: Encyclopedia II - Astronaut album - New deal new album

Ancient Astronaut theories have been advanced by authors such as Charles Fort (1919), Peter Kolosimo (in his 1957 book, Il pianeta sconosciuto), Henri Lhote (1958), Matest M. Agrest (1959), Erich von Däniken (1968), Dr. S. Lunskaya (1970) Robert K. G. Temple (1976), Zecharia Sitchin (1978) and Richard Hoagland. Erich von Däniken was foremost in popularizing ancient astronaut theories in the late 1960s and early 1970s with the 1968 publication of his best-selling Chariots of the Gods and its sequels. The evidence that v ...

See also:

Ancient astronaut theory, Ancient astronaut theory - Adherents and evidence, Ancient astronaut theory - Earlier ideas, Ancient astronaut theory - Ancient astronauts in fiction

Read more here: » Ancient astronaut theory: Encyclopedia II - Ancient astronaut theory - Adherents and evidence

Shepard was one of the Mercury astronauts named by NASA in April 1959 to Project Mercury, and he holds the distinction of being the first American to journey into space, as well as the only Mercury astronaut to walk on the Moon. On May 5, 1961, in the Freedom 7 spacecraft, he was launched by a Redstone rocket on a ballistic trajectory suborbital flight—a flight which carried him to an altitude of 116 statute miles and to a landing point 302 statute miles down the Atlantic Missile Range. He was scheduled to pilot the Mercury-Atlas 10 Fre ...

See also:

Alan Shepard, Alan Shepard - Naval career, Alan Shepard - Astronaut career, Alan Shepard - Awards and honors, Alan Shepard - Later years, Alan Shepard - Media, Alan Shepard - External link

Read more here: » Alan Shepard: Encyclopedia II - Alan Shepard - Astronaut career

Yang was selected as an astronaut candidate in 1998 and has trained for space flight since then. He was chosen from the final pool of 14 Chinese astronauts to fly on China's first manned space mission. A former fighter pilot in the Aviation Military Unit of the PLA, he held the rank of Lieutenant Colonel at the time of his mission. He was promoted to full colonel on October 20, 2003. According to the Youth Daily, the decision had been made in advance o ...

See also:

Yang Liwei, Yang Liwei - Background, Yang Liwei - Career as an astronaut

Read more here: » Yang Liwei: Encyclopedia II - Yang Liwei - Career as an astronaut

In 1998 he was selected for the astronaut program and was one of three astronauts who were part of the final group to train for the Shenzhou 5 flight. Yáng Lìwěi was picked for the flight, with Zhai Zhigang ranked second ahead of Niè Hǎishèng. He was launched into orbit, along with Fèi Jùnlóng (commander), as flight engineer of the Shenzhou 6 flight on October 12, 2005. The mission lasted just under five days. ...

See also:

Nie Haisheng, Nie Haisheng - Career as an astronaut, Nie Haisheng - Personal Facts

Read more here: » Nie Haisheng: Encyclopedia II - Nie Haisheng - Career as an astronaut

Adad · Ashnan Asaruludu · Emesh Enbilulu · Enkimdu · Enten Ereshkigal · Kabta Lahar · Mushdamma Nammu · Nanshe · Nergal Nidaba · Ningal Ninisinna · Ninkasi Ninlil · Ninurta · Nusku Sumugan · Urshanabi Uttu · Annunaki Some ancient astronaut theorists such as Zecharia Sitchin (q.v.), Sherry Shriner, Laurence Gardner and David Icke claim that the Anunnaki were in fact extra-terrestrials who came to Earth in antiquity and created or tampered with the genetic m ...

See also:

Anunnaki, Anunnaki - Ancient astronaut theory, Anunnaki - Notes, Anunnaki - External link

Read more here: » Anunnaki: Encyclopedia II - Anunnaki - Ancient astronaut theory

In October 1998, Frank De Winne was selected as an astronaut for the ESA. He graduated as an astronaut in 2000. In 2001 he was selected for the Yuri A. Gagarin training centre near Moscow. De Winne's sole spaceflight (30 October - 10 November 2002) has been a trip as a flight engineer to the International Space Station in 2002, travelling to the station aboard Soyuz TMA-1 and back aboard Soyuz TM-34. During his time in space De Winne carried out successfully a programme of 23 experiments in the fields ...

See also:

Frank De Winne, Frank De Winne - Personal, Frank De Winne - Education, Frank De Winne - Military Career, Frank De Winne - Astronaut, Frank De Winne - Honors, Frank De Winne - External link

Read more here: » Frank De Winne: Encyclopedia II - Frank De Winne - Astronaut

Armstrong was originally part of the Air Force's Man In Space Soonest project. That program did not go according to plan, and he participated in the X-20 Dyna-Soar program, which was also cancelled. Eventually, Armstrong was transferred to NASA's second group of Astronauts, in 1962. He served as the backup command pilot for the Gemini 5 mission in 1965. He commanded Gemini 8, which achieved the first docking of two orbiting spacecraft, in 1966, but aborted shortly after docking, because of malfunctioning maneuvering thrusters. He was ...

See also:

Neil Armstrong, Neil Armstrong - Career as an astronaut, Neil Armstrong - Follow-on career, Neil Armstrong - Private life, Neil Armstrong - Biography, Neil Armstrong - Armstrong in the movies

Read more here: » Neil Armstrong: Encyclopedia II - Neil Armstrong - Career as an astronaut

The history of space exploration has been marred by a number of tragedies that resulted in the deaths of the astronauts or ground crew. As of 2004, in-flight accidents had killed 18 astronauts, training accidents had claimed at least 11 astronauts and launchpad accidents had killed at least 70 ground crew. Only the crew of Soyuz 11 died in space. About 2% of the manned launch/reentry attempts have killed their crew, with Soyuz and the Shuttle having almost the same death rates. Except for the X-15 (which is a suborbital rocket ...

See also:

Space disaster, Space disaster - Astronaut fatalities, Space disaster - In-flight accidents, Space disaster - Training accidents, Space disaster - Near misses, Space disaster - Ground crew fatalities, Space disaster - Other accidents, Space disaster - Fatal accidents in which ground personnel were killed

Read more here: » Space disaster: Encyclopedia II - Space disaster - Astronaut fatalities

Collins first flew the Space Shuttle as pilot in 1995 aboard STS-63, which involved a rendezvous between Discovery and the Russian space station Mir. In recognition of her achievement as the first female Shuttle Pilot, she received the Harmon Trophy. She was also the pilot for STS-84 in 1997. Collins next commanded STS-93, launched in July 1999, which deployed the Chandra X-Ray Observatory. This was Shuttle Columbia's penultimate completed mission, the final one being STS-109, which flew in March 2002. The Columbia was later lost ...

See also:

Eileen Collins, Eileen Collins - Early life, Eileen Collins - Air Force experience, Eileen Collins - Astronaut experience, Eileen Collins - Personal life, Eileen Collins - Awards and honors

Read more here: » Eileen Collins: Encyclopedia II - Eileen Collins - Astronaut experience

Alan Shepard was always a shrewd businessman, and was the only astronaut to become a millionaire while still in the program. After he left the program, he was on the boards of many corporations under the auspices of his Seven-Fourteen Enterprises (named for his two flights, Freedom 7 and Apollo 14). In 1988, he teamed up with fellow Mercury Seven astronaut Deke Slayton to write Moon Shot: The Inside Story of America's Race to the Moon. ...

See also:

Alan Shepard, Alan Shepard - Naval career, Alan Shepard - Astronaut career, Alan Shepard - Awards and honors, Alan Shepard - Later years, Alan Shepard - Media, Alan Shepard - External link

Read more here: » Alan Shepard: Encyclopedia II - Alan Shepard - Later years

Neil Armstrong had no defining moment in his decision to become an astronaut. Over four or five months after the announcement that applications were being sought for the second group, he became more and more excited about the prospect of Project Apollo and the prospect of investigating a new aeronautical environment. It was found out many years later that Armstrong's astronaut application had arrived about a week past the June 1, 1962 deadline. Dick Day who Armstrong had worked closely with at Edwards was now at the Manned Spacecraft Center ...

See also:

Neil Armstrong, Neil Armstrong - Youth, Neil Armstrong - College, Neil Armstrong - Korea, Neil Armstrong - Test Pilot, Neil Armstrong - Astronaut selection and early training, Neil Armstrong - Gemini, Neil Armstrong - Gemini 5, Neil Armstrong - Gemini 8, Neil Armstrong - Gemini 11, Neil Armstrong - Early-Apollo program, Neil Armstrong - Apollo 11, Neil Armstrong - Life after Apollo, Neil Armstrong - Teaching, Neil Armstrong - Business activities, Neil Armstrong - Personal life, Neil Armstrong - Lawsuits, Neil Armstrong - Armstrong in popular culture, Neil Armstrong - Notes

Read more here: » Neil Armstrong: Encyclopedia II - Neil Armstrong - Astronaut selection and early training

PRC's manned space program started as early as 1968, when it was founded by Tsien Hsue-Shen of the Space Flight Medical Research Centre. Project 714 aimed to put two astronauts into space by 1973 with the Shuguang-1 spacecraft. Nineteen PLAAF pilots were selected for this goal on March 1971. The Shuguang-1 spacecraft to be launched with the CZ-2A rocket was designed to carry a crew of two astronauts. T ...

See also:

Space program of China, Space program of China - History and Recent Developments, Space program of China - Organization, Space program of China - Goals, Space program of China - Projects, Space program of China - Satellites and science, Space program of China - Launch vehicles, Space program of China - Space exploration, Space program of China - Astronauts, Space program of China - See Also

Read more here: » Space program of China: Encyclopedia II - Space program of China - History and Recent Developments

Armstrong has always preferred a life outside of the spotlight, but he has not always been able to keep it as such. In 1972, Neil Armstrong was welcomed into the town of Langholm, Scotland. It was the traditional seat of Clan Armstrong and the astronaut was made the first freeman of the burgh. He happily declared the town his home. [2] In May 2005, Armstrong became involved in an unusual legal battle with barber Marx Sizemore of Lebanon, Ohio. After cutting Armstrong's hair, Sizemore sold some of it to a collector for $3,000 wi ...

See also:

Neil Armstrong, Neil Armstrong - Career as an astronaut, Neil Armstrong - Follow-on career, Neil Armstrong - Private life, Neil Armstrong - Biography, Neil Armstrong - Armstrong in the movies

Read more here: » Neil Armstrong: Encyclopedia II - Neil Armstrong - Private life