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Astronauts

NASAWatch On BBC: Who Gets The FAA Astronaut Wings?

By Keith Cowing
NASA Watch
July 23, 2021
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FAA National Policy: FAA Commercial Space Astronaut Wings Program
“Purpose of This Order. This Order provides guidelines, eligibility, and criteria for the administration of the FAA Commercial Space Astronaut Wings Program.”

NASA Watch founder, Explorers Club Fellow, ex-NASA, Away Teams, Journalist, Space & Astrobiology, Lapsed climber.

3 responses to “NASAWatch On BBC: Who Gets The FAA Astronaut Wings?”

  1. james w barnard says:
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    I thought I answered on the BBC comment line, but here are my thoughts anyway:
    I think the FAA is on a power trip. Setting the rules after the flights, IMHO, violate the ex post factos principles. The fact that they granted Virgin Galactic a license to carry passengers on board what apparently is still considered an experimental aerospace craft, should count for something for those passengers. They were still part of a “crew” determining whether “ordinary” tourists will be able to fly in relative safety and comfort. The same should hold true for the New Shepard people. Maybe, each individual tourist company should issue their own certificates or wings like the airlines used to do for young kids flying for the first time.

    One thing… I wonder if the Federation Internationale Aeronautique would recognize Virgin’s flight for any sort of record, since it did not take off from the ground under its own power? But, then, neither did the X-1, or the X-15! By the same token, neither Yuri Gagarin nor Gherman Titov should be “recognized” since they did not land in their spacecraft, but intentionally ejected!

    Maybe the FAA troops should pay for a ride on both Spaceship II and New Shepard, and see if they think they are entitled to be called astronauts, instead of polishing a chair somewhere!

    More power to those who will make space travel as common as airline flights!
    Ad Astra!

  2. mfwright says:
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    Looks like we have a new type of “astronaut.” Previously selection to the astronaut or cosmonaut corps was a very enduring process. Then extensive training, then careful selection to anyone flying is essential to make happen (Deke Slayton had plenty on his staff but he was very thorough on who he selected for flight assignment). Then we have Russians selling tickets to ISS but those people had to do extensive training as in ways they are part of the crew (don’t want them screwing things up). Obviously these people are astronauts.

    Then we jump to commercial spacecraft, pilot(s) need to be very good at what they do, mission specialists need to be good match to the experiment/task. I can see FAA awarding astronaut wings to these people, i.e. test pilots on SS1, 2, 3. Then we have those just going along for the ride. OK, like Keith says if passenger riding in a airplane a pilot? Going on a cruise ship make you a sailor? It seems private spacecraft has been talked about for decades, these first flights by Bezos and Branson talked about for years with nothing happening, then bam here we are.

  3. Steve Pemberton says:
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    In commercial aviation the overall term is air crew, which is split between the flight crew and the cabin crew. ​Flight crew is further split between pilots and flight engineer, even though the flight engineer position has been eliminated on modern airliners. Then there are airplane passengers, who are considered none of the above.

    It seems that the FAA is advocating a definition similar to air crew, which I tend to agree with. Using that definition neither passengers nor researchers riding in a spaceship would be considered astronauts.

    I suppose some might argue what about a researcher who spends time on ISS, who is also trained in some of the safety operations. Well I think most of us have sat in an exit row seat on an airliner and been given instructions on the operation of the emergency doors. But that hardly made us a part of the air crew.

    Probably no need to make it retroactive, in my opinion anyone who flew into space in the first six decades is a pioneer who can keep the astronaut title. Yes even those who served primarily as ballast.

    Perhaps the timing of the FAA announcement could be considered the cutoff, i.e. these four people and the four passengers on the VG flight would be the last group of non-crew space travelers to be considered astronauts. As a final group there would be some interesting symbolism with Wally Funk, as well as two of the early founders of commercial space. Of course not everyone will agree with or accept the FAA definition, at least not initially.