"After reaching its peak of nearly 150 astronauts in 2000, the size of the corps diminished with the end of Space Shuttle missions in 2011 and now stands at 44, one of the smallest cadres of astronauts in the past 20 years," the report reads.

At 44 astronauts, NASA puts itself in a sticky situation when it comes to meeting the requirements of its upcoming manifests, executing space flight missions and meeting its goal of deep space travel, according to the report."

Too common? Being an astronaut no longer makes you famous? The space shuttle was more fun than six months on a space station?