Astronaut Candidate Resigns During Training | Aero-News Network
Aero-News Network
RSS icon RSS feed
podcast icon MP3 podcast
Subscribe Aero-News e-mail Newsletter Subscribe

Airborne Unlimited -- Most Recent Daily Episodes

Episode Date

Airborne-Monday

Airborne-Tuesday

Airborne-Wednesday Airborne-Thursday

Airborne-Friday

Airborne On YouTube

Airborne-Unlimited-07.14.25

Airborne-NextGen-07.15.25

AirborneUnlimited-07.16.25

Airborne-FlightTraining-07.17.25

AirborneUnlimited-07.11.25

Tue, Sep 04, 2018

Astronaut Candidate Resigns During Training

First To Do So In 50 Years

One of the candidates selected for the NASA's 2017 astronaut class has resigned from the program for "personal reasons" before qualifying for spaceflight.

Robb Kulin, a 35-year-old Alaskan, has been in training with NASA for a year. He was selected for one of the 12 spots in the astronaut class from among some 18,300 applicants for the positions. With his resignation, he becomes the first astronaut candidate to leave the program in 50 years, according to the agency.

The Houston Chronicle reports that in an interview last year with The Verge, Kulin said "One of the big objectives that the team is going for here at NASA is they’re trying to see, ‘Hey, if I got stuck with this guy on Space Station, is that actually something I’d enjoy?’ ”

NASA spokeswoman Brandi Dean said that the agency will not replace Kulin. His resignation is effective August 31.

The last time an astronaut resigned from the program was in 1968. Two members of the 1967 class left that year. Brian O'Leary cited a lack of spaceflight prospects as his reason for leaving the program, while John Llewellyn left after having difficulty piloting jets.

Kulin spent six years at SpaceX working on design and analysis of Falcon 9 rocket components. He later led the launch chief engineering group, which ensures flight safety.

Dean said Kulin will not be required to reimburse the agency for any of his training.

(NASA image)

FMI: Source report

Advertisement

More News

ANN's Daily Aero-Term (07.15.25): Charted Visual Flight Procedure Approach

Charted Visual Flight Procedure Approach An approach conducted while operating on an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan which authorizes the pilot of an aircraft to proceed >[...]

Aero-News: Quote of the Day (07.15.25)

“When l became the Secretary of Defense, I committed to rebuild our military to match threats to capabilities. Drones are the biggest battlefield innovation in a generation, >[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (07.15.25)

Aero Linx: Stearman Restorers Association Welcome to the Stearman Restorers Association. The Stearman Restorers Association is an independent “Not for Profit” 501C-3 Co>[...]

NTSB Final Report: Kjelsrud Gary Kitfox

Airplane Exhibited A Partial Loss Of Engine Power When It Was About Halfway Down The Runway Analysis: The pilot of the experimental amateur-built airplane was departing from his pr>[...]

NTSB Prelim: Cessna A150L

The Flight Path Was Consistent With Low-Altitude Maneuvering On June 18, 2025, about 0922 mountain standard time, a Cessna A150L airplane, N6436F, was substantially damaged when it>[...]

blog comments powered by Disqus



Advertisement

Advertisement

Podcasts

Advertisement

© 2007 - 2025 Web Development & Design by Pauli Systems, LC