Despite flying to the edge of space, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos does not qualify for his astronaut wings, after the US Federal Aviation Aut...
Despite flying to the edge of space, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos does not qualify for his astronaut wings, after the US Federal Aviation Authority tightened its rules.
Bezos and the crew of Blue Origin took off from their base at Van Horn, Texas, at 9.12am EST on Tuesday, the 52nd anniversary of the moon landing.
They ascended for four minutes before the fully autonomous New Shepard rocket booster separated, leaving them floating in zero gravity for four minutes.
It is the autonomous portion of the spaceflight that will see Bezos, his brother Mark, Wally Funk and Oliver Daemen miss out on their FAA-approved wings.
In order to qualify, they have to make a contribution to the flight and to human space flight safety while travelling beyond the 50 miles mark defined as space by the FAA.
However, it doesn't take away from them going into space, as Blue Origin achieved this feat, and Bezos is the richest man to go to space, Wally Funk the oldest, and Oliver Daemen the youngest.
Bezos floats in space after being launched 66 miles into space on Tuesday morning by the New Shepard rocket
The Amazon billionaire was almost euphoric after returning to Earth with his crewmates. He described it as a 'perfect mission'
The New Shepard launched the capsule carrying Jeff Bezos and three other passengers into space on Tuesday, 25 seconds after lift off
So far, only Virgin Galactic pilots, flying the spaceplane from the cockpit, and chief astronaut Beth Moses, who flew solo in the cabin on a test flight, have been awarded the new commercial FAA astronaut wings. Nobody from Blue Origin has qualified.
With the Blue Origin New Shepard spacecraft controlled entirely from the ground, with no input from the crew on board, the new FAA criteria wasn't met.
This could put the entire space tourism industry in doubt, experts predict, as passengers on the various spacecraft wouldn't 'get their wings'.
It is possible a new category of 'space tourist' or commercial astronaut is created to describe those who go to space purely as a passenger, rather than crew or pilots.
Mary Robinette Kowal, award winning author of the Lady Astronaut series, suggested on Twitter that astronaut should be an 'earned term' reserved for someone engaged in space exploration and science.
She said: 'One of the things that bothers me is calling these passengers "astronauts." Spacefarers, yes. I've felt like astronaut ought to be an earned term.'
This doesn't mean they wouldn't be astronauts, as the firms themselves could issue their own wings, with a tourist becoming a Virgin Galactic or Blue Origin astronaut, but they wouldn't be issued or recognised by an independent authority like the FAA.
Blue Origin had argued that because they fly above the internationally recognised 'Karman Line' at 62 miles above the Earth, they meet international astronaut standards, whereas Virgin Galactic only operates to just over 50 miles.
This is the line defined as the edge of space by both NASA and the FAA, and so far only Virgin Galactic pilots, as well as chief astronaut Beth Moses, who flew solo in the cabin on a test flight, have been issued with FAA astronaut wings.
Branson and his crew were each given a specific task to operate while in the cabin, with Branson responsible for 'the passenger experience' which may be enough for them to each qualify for FAA wings, although that isn't entirely clear.
Sir Richard Branson travelled to the edge of space on VSS Unity on July 11, becoming the first of the 'billionaire space set' to leave the Earth in their own firms vehicle.
The wings don't actually carry any legal status and come with no privileges beyond bragging rights, but it is seen as beneficial to have an independently issued badge.
It isn't all bad news for the Blue Origin crew though, as the FAA is able to issue honorary wings in exceptional circumstances.
In order to qualify as an astronaut crew have to make a contribution to the flight and to human space flight safety while travelling beyond the 50 miles mark defined as space by the FAA.
While Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic both pass the 50 mile mark, it isn't clear whether the passengers make enough of a contribution to be called 'astronaut'
Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson, left, receives a Virgin Galactic made astronaut wings pin from Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield after his flight to space from Spaceport America near Truth or Consequences, N.M., Sunday, July 11, 2021
This is for 'individuals who demonstrated extraordinary contributions or beneficial service to the commercial human space flight industry' but don't meet the criteria.
This means Wally Funk, who completed NASA training in the early 1960s, could still earn her wings from the flight on July 20.
Funk, an aviation pioneer, was part of the 1960s Women in Space training scheme, until it was shut down during the Cold War. Despite besting some of the Mercury 7 astronaut scores, she never got to go to space.
Even without the badge, she still became the oldest person to go to space as the craft passed the 50 mile mark by 13 miles, the question is over the title astronaut.
Blue Origin have been asked for a comment but have yet to respond.
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