ESA puts actual astronaut training material online

I bet more than a few people out there are fans of anything having to do with space and grew up wanting to be an astronaut, wondering if they actually had the right stuff. There's no guarantee that you are the right stuff for sure, but the ESA has placed actual astronaut training materials online and available for computer and tablet users. The documents available are the same ones that astronauts on the ISS use to refresh themselves on Automated Transfer Vehicle or ATV docking.

The ATV is the unmanned vehicle that launches from Earth and brings supplies to the ISS and takes trash away. While the docking is mostly automated, astronauts train to ensure that things go off without a hitch since a small accident can spell disaster in space. The refresher courses are designed to work on laptops, but astronauts will use tablets in the future.

Two different training lessons are available for people to try at home right now. One of the lessons is a normal webpage that shows astronauts possible malfunctions that can happen during ATV docking and how to deal with them. The second lesson shows the steps required to safely enter a docked ATV. This process is more complicated than simply throwing open the door. iPad and iPhone versions are available on the App Store.

[via ESA]