Psychology of Space Exploration
She also documents the minimal role that psychiatrists and psychologists
played in the selection process from Gemini until well into the early Shuttle mis-
sions.^65 In the beginning of the astronaut program, original psychological selec-
tion attempted to pick the best-qualified candidates from a very capable group of
experienced pilots, but by the 1980s, the selection process simply made sure that
candidates were qualified based on the evaluator’s opinion. Thus in 1983, Jones
and Annes could claim that no psychological testing was involved. Rather, the
approach had evolved into an entirely psychiatric process completed by two psy-
chiatrists who separately interviewed each candidate. Whereas the original exam-
ination sought the best-qualified candidates, later procedures simply ensured that
each candidate met the minimum qualifications.^66
Candidates were no longer rated against one another, but they were screened
for various psychopathologic conditions that could be detrimental or unsafe in a
space environment. This screening, although conducted by expert aviation psychi-
atrists, did not have specific and objective criteria by which to rate each candidate.
The emphasis was on selecting-out those candidates whose psychological structure
would be detrimental in a space environment. Neuroses, personality disorders, fear
of flying, disabling phobias, substance abuse, the use of psychotropic medications,
or any other psychiatric conditions that would be hazardous to flight safety or mis-
sion accomplishment were among the grounds for rejection.
Thus, a selection program that began in 1959 as a model rooted in psychiatry
and clinical psychology, and in industrial and organizational psychology, had been
reduced to subjective evaluation. Patricia Santy provides more detail on how psy-
chiatric evaluations were conducted by two psychiatric consultants who did not
collaborate, use a standardized psychiatric interview, or keep detailed documenta-
tion, and who used their own subjective sets of psychological criteria in the course
of the evaluation.^67 She reviewed the percentage of female and male candidates dis-
qualified psychiatrically. She found that one of the two psychiatrists hired to help
in the screening process between 1977 and 1985 psychiatrically disqualified 40.7
- Ibid.
- D. R. Jones and C. A. Annes, “The Evolution and Present Status of Mental Health
Standards for Selection of USAF Candidates for Space Missions,” Aviation, Space, and
Environmental Medicine 54 (1983): 730–734. - Santy, Choosing the Right Stuff.