Hammad Khalid
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) says astronauts must be a part of the flight crew to make safety contributions.
This Tuesday, we have seen Jeff Bezos accompanied by the Blue Origin team have a flight to space. They safely exited the crew capsule following their 10-minute Shepard trip, the booster went over about 351,000 ft above the earth.
Although, it was a successful flight overall, from stepping into the Blue Origin Space Rocket to its landing. But FAA has some concerns regarding this flight.
Astronaut hopefuls must be part of the flight crew and make contributions to space flight safety.
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
Will this flight make Jeff Bezos and his companions called astronauts? By definition, they are to be called astronauts as they are the ones who went into space or a person who’s trained to travel in a spacecraft.
Mr. Bezos and the three other crew members who flew on Blue Origin’s spacecraft may have less claim to the coveted title. Ahead of the launch, Blue Origin CEO Bob Smith said that “there’s really nothing for a crew member to do” on the autonomous vehicle.
So, by merit, we wonder “if” they are to be called astronauts!
The Commercial Astronaut Wings program updates were announced on Tuesday – the same day that Amazon’s Mr. Bezos flew aboard a Blue Origin rocket to the edge of space. To qualify as commercial astronauts, space-goers must travel 50 miles (80km) above the Earth’s surface, which both Mr. Bezos and his companions accomplished.
But altitude aside, the agency says would-be astronauts must have also “demonstrated activities during the flight that was essential to public safety or contributed to human space flight safety”.
In a statement, the FAA said that these changes brought the wings scheme more in line with its role to protect public safety during commercial space flights.
Source: BBC News
Those wishing for commercial wings need to be nominated for them as well. An FAA spokesperson told CNN they are not currently reviewing any submissions. Whereas, there are several other ways, in fact, two ways to earn astronaut wings in the US – through the military or Nasa.
The new order by FAA associates notes that honorary awards can be given based on merit. The first-ever award to astronauts was Alan Shepard Jr and Virgil Grissom in the early 1960s for their participation in the Mercury Seven program.
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