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Were there specific FAA (or other relevant regulatory body) pilot licensing or certifications required to fly the Space Shuttle? Are they specific to the Space Shuttle, or would it have fallen under an existing pilot license scheme?

Greg Hewgill
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BZN_DBer
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    They make you take big jump, if your cojones end up in a heliocentric orbit that means you are good enough :) Jokes aside, beside having IFR rating, passed various physical tests, have quite a few hours at the helm of a jet all space shuttle pilots had a very specific training with a specially modified aircraft, able to simulate the peculiar characteristics of the unique glider that a shuttle in the reentry phase is – Caterpillaraoz Oct 12 '17 at 07:32

3 Answers3

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FAA considers space shuttle either a military aircraft or spacecraft and hence its rules don't apply on space shuttle.

However, requirements to be a pilot for a space shuttle are:

... at least 1,000 hours pilot-in-command time on jet aircraft

It means that you need type rating to operate a heavy jet aircraft (not light jet). Weight of an empty space shuttle is 172,000 lb (78,000 kg)1. In addition, you need the additional requirements mentioned by NASA (link above), which include education and health standards to meet.

Operating empty weight of Airbus A380 is 610,000 lbs.

Farhan
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    A military pilot could have that PIC time without holding an ATPL. I think the real question here is whether the FAA had any jurisdiction over the Space Shuttle program at all. – Pondlife Oct 11 '17 at 18:51
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    @Pondlife a clarification: a military pilot can have a PPL only and 1000 hours as PIC in a jet, CPL is not needed? – Farhan Oct 11 '17 at 19:02
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    Wouldn't that be "the requirements were", seeing that the Space Shuttle is no longer in operation, and hasn't been for years? – user Oct 11 '17 at 19:23
  • You have 1000 hours of PIC jet time as a Private or Commercial pilot. The ATP part makes no sense – Steve Kuo Oct 11 '17 at 19:30
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    At least in the US, military licensing is completely separate from civilian licensing. You can use military experience to get a civilian license (e.g. 61.73, 61.153) but the FAA doesn't regulate military flight training. Having said that, it seems to be common for military pilots to hold civilian ratings, perhaps because they're fairly easy to get (e.g. ATP with 750hrs instead of 1500hrs for a civilian). But I know very little about the military side of things. – Pondlife Oct 11 '17 at 19:39
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    @MichaelKjörling You haven't heard? In order to talk about the Space Shuttle, you need to live in a state of denial and pretend that it's still flying. You can't be a space nut if you don't. – E.P. Oct 11 '17 at 21:45
  • "Jet" and "heavy" are not the same thing. There are plenty of jets that are not heavy. – Wayne Conrad Oct 11 '17 at 23:17
  • What's more, according to the linked page, the jet time is in lieu of professional experience obtained after degree completion. It's not strictly required. – Wayne Conrad Oct 11 '17 at 23:19
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    OTOH the Time In Type requirement was quite low. – A. I. Breveleri Oct 12 '17 at 00:32
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    @MichaelKjörling the shuttle may not be flying, but the regulations and requirements would still be in place. Between Branston and Musk and NASA there will be something else along eventually, and those regs will already be in place to annoy, irritate and confound future astropilots. – Criggie Oct 12 '17 at 02:54
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    @Farhan A military pilot doesn't need an FAA license at all. Indeed, they could have thousands of hours flying jets around with some of that time at Mach 2 and they'd still have to go through the normal FAA requirements to get a PPL to even fly a Piper or a Cessna. I suspect that they'd be signed off to solo rather quickly, though... – reirab Oct 12 '17 at 03:17
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    @E.P. Gee, no, I hadn't; that's awesome! Maybe the same requirements allow me to believe we're still able to go to the Moon, too? (Just to be perfectly clear, since tone sometimes doesn't come across well in text: That's a joke. But still...) – user Oct 12 '17 at 07:17
  • @Criggie Fair enough point. – user Oct 12 '17 at 07:23
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    @reirab, FWIW most military pilots can obtain a commercial certificate on the basis of a written competency test and logbook review. – Michael Hall May 18 '23 at 01:12
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@Farhan covers the NASA requirements but legally, According to the FAA FAR's

§460.5 Crew qualifications and training.

....

(b) Each member of a flight crew must demonstrate an ability to withstand the stresses of space flight, which may include high acceleration or deceleration, microgravity, and vibration, in sufficient condition to safely carry out his or her duties so that the vehicle will not harm the public.

(c) A pilot and a remote operator must—

(1) Possess and carry an FAA pilot certificate with an instrument rating.

Dave
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The effective minimum rating would be a pilot with an instrument rating as this would be required to operate the shuttle training aircraft, which they would do at least 1,000 times and often from Class A airspace at 37,000 feet.

Jeff Ferland
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  • This might or might not be correct; a source would help. Public use operations (i.e. government operations, very loosely speaking) aren't regulated by the FAA, so it isn't obvious that any Shuttle pilot held an FAA pilot certificate or instrument rating. – Pondlife Oct 16 '17 at 14:25
  • 91.135 provides no such exception for Class A airspace. In all reasonable likelihood, I'd fall over shocked if any pilot of the shuttle lacked an instrument rating given the comparative higher workload of exempting the aircraft. Operating under instrument flight rules requires an IFR rating. – Jeff Ferland Oct 19 '17 at 23:06