hat’s an ASCAN? And, why are they in the Sooner State? Well, it’s Wa good thing. ASCAN is a NASA acronym meaning AStronaut CANdidate and for more than two decades, the non-pilot astronaut candidates and even some of the pilots came to Vance Air Force Base in Enid, Oklahoma for a short two- or three-day training session in parachuting and survival training. The 1978 Class of Astronauts in ASCAN Training at Vance AFB in Enid with, back from left, George Nelson, Judy Resnick, and an unknown airman. Front from left are Ron McNair, Sally Ride, Kathy Sullivan, Rhea Seddon, Anna Fisher, and Dr. Shannon Lucid. Courtesy NASA. The goal of all the ASCAN was to fly into space on the Space Shuttle. Courtesy NASA. 15 35