I am a history major and for one of my finals I am writing about the evolution of NASA astronauts from test-pilots to scientists. I wanted to be able to see exactly what the NASA requirements were for each astronaut group but so far I have only been able to find information about the current standards and the original Mercury requirements. Does anyone have access or know of a way for me to access documents such as these? If not, does anyone know the important changes that have been made and when they were made? Thank you in advance!
Just an idea, but would it not be far easier to dig into the backgrounds of the astronauts? Most of them have biographies published, so you could deduce the requirements to some degree from that. Also: over time the hands on flying was taken over by computers largely, thus eliminating the need for everyone on board to actually have extensive flight experience. (Much in the same way like the radio operator/navigator and flight mechanic disappeared from from the flightdeck during the 90's.)
Just my 2 cents. Alternatively: why don't you write NASA and simply ask? It's hardly sensitive information anymore.