According to astronaut Steve Hawley, the view from space is unbeatable, but taking off is like being in an eight-and-a-half minute train wreck.

More information NASA Johnson Space Center Human resources code AHX Astronaut selection office Houston, TX 77058

Since the mid-1980s he's been in space four times on missions to launch satellites and the Hubble space telescope.

If you want to be aboard missions to Mars or MIR, you have to "work hard, study hard, and do a lot of math and science,'' says Eileen Hawley, Steve Hawley's wife and a spokeswoman for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

That's because competition is tough. NASA's selection process for astronauts runs in two-year cycles. By July 1 of this year, the closing date for the last cycle, NASA received over 2,600 applications for 20 to 40 spots.

There are two classifications of astronauts -- mission specialists, who have a background in science, and pilots.

Astronauts have a minimum educational background of a bachelor's degree in math, science or engineering. Pilots must have 5,000 hours of in-command flight experience.

Most of the 96 active astronauts in the U.S. have master's or doctoral degrees in math and science fields, as well as extensive community service and work experience, Eileen Hawley says.

Contrary to popular conception, astronauts spend very little of their time in space. NASA deploys an average of seven or eight space missions a year, with five to seven crew members on board each flight. Each mission lasts about seven to 18 days, though some, like the MIR space station mission, last longer.

The rest of the time astronauts function as engineering advisers and do a lot of office work, Hawley says.

The qualified few who make the selection process go through one to two years of training, during which they have to learn how to operate every system on the spacecraft, fly a jet craft, and study geology and geography, says Hawley.

Astronauts are federal employees and make an average of about $74,000; starting salaries are about $47,000, while astronauts with 10 or 12 years of experience make about $100,000.