Ed Dwight Jr: The first black astronaut who never flew

[kosmograd]

6. NY Times -- Astronaut doesn't NEED piloting skills?

Is this even true? If an astronaut candidate believed he'd just be able to passively ride in a remote-controlled craft, would he have the skills to take control if needed? Something doesn't add up.

ludorph quote:
Riding a rocket had little in common with flying a plane, aside from being airborne. “The basic thing you have to understand,” Dwight explained recently, “is everything that happens on that spaceship, from the time you crawl into that seat to the time it touches down, is controlled from the ground. There’s no one thing that makes a good astronaut. I don’t know any person with determination and will that can’t go to space.”