Psychometric Characteristics of Astronauts,

Detailed information on the role of psychological testing in the selection process for NASA astronauts has been reported only in a fragmentary manner because of the sensitive nature of this information. With the lapse of time since the initiation of the U.S. manned space program, this information has become essentially of only historic interest. However, because of the current activity in the European space agency, where there is a requirement for astronaut selection, psychometric procedures and data are of renewed scientific interest. An overview of the psychometric process and extensive statistical analyses are reported. Author