Growing up in Charlottesville, Ben Bailey never imagined he’d one day be training to travel to space. But the University of Virginia graduate and former U.S. Army test pilot is now part of NASA’s newest class of astronaut candidates, beginning two years of intensive training at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.
Bailey, who reported for duty Sept. 12, said that the first few weeks have been a whirlwind of orientation, administrative work and briefings about what’s to come.
“It’s been a lot of administrative stuff and also just a whirlwind of ‘Here’s what to expect,’” he told The Daily Progress. “It’s sort of eye-opening how quickly we’re getting the ball rolling.”
Bailey graduated from UVa in 2009 with a mechanical and aerospace engineering degree. He began his career at Newport News Shipbuilding, where he worked on propulsion systems and reactor plants for Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carriers. After several years in engineering, he decided to pursue aviation through the Army’s warrant officer program, a move that led to a decadelong military flying career.
“I left the University of Virginia as an engineer, worked for four years at the shipyard in Newport News, and then I pursued the Army,” Bailey said. “I talked to every branch Navy, Air Force, Army and somebody sold me on the Army warrant officer route. It really spoke to me, and here I am 11 years later.”
He went on to become a helicopter and test pilot, logging hours in more than 30 different aircraft. He said that experience has helped prepare him for NASA’s mission.
“I think that when we look at space flights, I think that helicopters in general have a pretty good translation into landing and taking off, you know? From the moon, where it’s going to be mostly a vertical takeoff and landing, you have a potential for some dust, and so I think you know having some experience in helicopters really well,” said Bailey, emphasizing that his flight experience made him a good fit for the NASA program.
While flight training is part of the upcoming schedule, Bailey said he’s equally eager to dive into areas outside his aviation background, including robotics, language training and spacewalk preparation at NASA’s Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory in Houston.
“I love flight training, but I’m also really excited about the stuff I’ve never seen before,” he said. “Things like the neutral buoyancy lab and robotics are totally unique to me.”
Bailey said the astronaut class includes a wide range of professionals: fighter pilots, geologists, biomedical engineers, medical doctors.
“It’s a really unique group of folks with varied backgrounds,” he said. “All of them are just very genuine, encouraging, supportive people. I’m really excited for the next two years of training.”
When asked what encouragement he could offer to those aspiring to be astronauts themselves, Bailey reflected on his own path. He said he never set out to become an astronaut and encourages others not to worry about having a perfect plan.
“There’s no one path that winds up getting somebody into the astronaut corps,” he said. “Find something you’re passionate about and do it to the maximum extent you can. That’s what led me here.”
Source: www.dailyprogress.com
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