NASA has never had a problem finding capable people to be astronauts. NASA's problem was, and still is, finding ways to cut the list of capable applicants down to a manageable length.
There was a point in my life where I either wanted to be an astronaut, an actor, a veterinarian, or a pirate. I just thought being in space would be really cool, but then you have to have 20/20 vision, which I don't have, so there.
Astronauts working for the government will always need to be either pilots or mission specialists. Those who want to be pilots should have military experience - ideally, a test pilot background.
All astronauts, even civilians like me without pilot experience, have to learn how to co-pilot a jet called a T-38.
Becoming an astronaut was a little bit of happenstance for me.
I wanted to be an astronaut and wanted to go to space camp, but then I found out that I was too short to become an astronaut. My mom really made me believe that if I worked hard enough and if I really wanted to do it, I could do it.
Well, for me it really wasn't a case of deciding to be an astronaut.
And, so I set my goals on astronaut because, as a military aviator, it was, I considered that to be about the peak of a flying career.
