# Things that disqualify you from being an astronaut **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 11, 2013, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-disqualify-you-from-being-an-astronaut/655453 "2013-04-11T23:32:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2013, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-disqualify-you-from-being-an-astronaut/655453/21 "2013-04-12T15:06:15Z")
> [@the\_diego](#): > > One test pilot (Pete Conrad) was dropped because he was “not suited” for long-duration flights. Pete Conrad, the third man on the moon, who set an eight-day space endurance record on Gemini 5 before setting a record for human spaceflight duration on the first manned mission to Skylab? ---
**Author:** ![Shmendrik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Shmendrik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shmendrik)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2013, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-disqualify-you-from-being-an-astronaut/655453/22 "2013-04-12T15:43:37Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Pete Conrad, the third man on the moon, who set an eight-day space endurance record on Gemini 5 before setting a record for human spaceflight duration on the first manned mission to Skylab? He didn’t play nicely during the extensive physical and mental health screening process for the Mercury astronauts. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2013, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-disqualify-you-from-being-an-astronaut/655453/23 "2013-04-12T15:44:43Z")
> [@FluffyBob](#): > > I think susceptibility to motion sickness would be a primary dis-qualifier. Poor digestion, tendency to flatulence would probably be bad too. > > Capsules must smell awful after a few hours. The long duration Gemini and Apollo capsules must have smelled horrific. Nasty bodily accidents must be and actively managed reality in a long duration facility like the Space station. The guy who farts all the time cant be a welcome visitor. So were they on special diets, or were there special deoderant packs in their Depends, when they did those extended Gemini and Apollo flights? (Old joke about the Pampers disposable diapers that say “for up to 25 pounds”?) ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2013, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-disqualify-you-from-being-an-astronaut/655453/24 "2013-04-12T15:45:33Z")
Someone else’s kid gets sick. [Ken Mattingly](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_13#Prime_and_backup_crew) ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2013, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-disqualify-you-from-being-an-astronaut/655453/25 "2013-04-12T19:12:01Z")
> [@FluffyBob](#): > > Capsules must smell awful after a few hours Well, if [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=687378) is anything to go by… then, yeah. ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2013, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-disqualify-you-from-being-an-astronaut/655453/26 "2013-04-12T20:31:14Z")
If Howard Wolowitz can get into space, anybody can. Then again, his extremely light payload might have compensated for physical weaknesses. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2013, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-disqualify-you-from-being-an-astronaut/655453/27 "2013-04-13T01:57:03Z")
> [@Fleetwood](#): > > Fear of heights? Or worse, vertigo. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2013, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-disqualify-you-from-being-an-astronaut/655453/28 "2013-04-13T02:36:56Z")
> [@Shmendrik](#): > > Isn’t it likely that some of the original military test pilot astronauts had suffered minor broken bones before their space flights? > > (half an hour later) > > I looked through the first three astronaut groups on Wikipedia and only found this about Deke Slayton: “A childhood farm equipment accident left him with a severed left ring finger.” > > The pre-NASA parts of the Wikipedia biographies are pretty brief though. I think we have a winner. OP’s daughter’s got the goods now. I want to hear what her friend has to say about _this_. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2013, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-disqualify-you-from-being-an-astronaut/655453/29 "2013-04-13T03:22:03Z")
Excessive flatulence. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2013, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-disqualify-you-from-being-an-astronaut/655453/30 "2013-04-13T03:37:52Z")
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