The term ‘astronaut’ has been maintained as the title for those selected to join the NASA corps of astronauts who make ‘space sailing’ their career profession.”
The term ‘astronaut’ has the Greek meaning as ‘space sailor,’ and refers to all who have been launched as crew members aboard NASA spacecraft bound for orbit and beyond.
Technically speaking, before you fly, you can be selected as a NASA astronaut, get trained , but you may not call yourself an astronaut until you are assigned to a mission and get to fly.
You are an astronaut candidate before that time. So earning the Astronaut Wings or being called as an Astronaut takes a lot of hard work.
Billionaires are are now making a Push, a Paradigm shift is being noticed as Space tourism is getting a boost due Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson's companies’ spacecrafts making statements.
That Part is OK, but can anybody who goes to the space be honoured as an astronaut ? They may be called as 'Space Passengers' , but being called as Astronaut is still debatable.
The US Aviation Body - Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has now amended the rules for how it awards astronaut wings to those riding on private space flights, making it a tough nut to crack.
Three agencies of the United states that designate the candidates as astronauts are the US military, NASA, and the FAA. Out of these three , Only FAA has been entrusted with awarding the Astronaut Wings to the members of Civilian Space Ventures with a Commercial edge. But, are the norms so simple ?
Training - To Become Commercial Astronaut by the FAA , candidates must undergo a training regime satisfactorily and fly above 80 Kilometers (49.7 Miles).
Mission Crew - The main criteria seems to be that the astronauts must be designated as crew members performing some task aboard their flights, not simply passengers.
Employee Status - Another requirement to get the wings is employee status , an astronaut must be employed by the Spacecraft launching Company – this clause will exclude the Tourists , who buy the ticket for Space adventure.
Space flight safety - Probable Candidates must have “demonstrated activities during flight that were essential to public safety, or contributed to human space flight safety,” says the amended guideline to get the astronaut wings.
FAA officials are the final authority to decide on the Validation of "contribution to space flight safety". Over the Period, the FAA has been awarding wings only to the pilots of a Spacecraft .
In the case of 'Virgin Galactic' on 11th July, Richard Branson and his team were termed as as crew members for the testing of the spacecraft, but it’s FAA to decide, if that act “contributed to human space flight safety” and whether Richard Branson can get the wings !
In the Case of 'Blue Origin' on 20th July, mission was on a different mode, the spacecraft was completely controlled from the earth, Jeff Bezos and his team mates were not part of the Crew, they were mere passengers to enjoy the Space ride.
This implies that Jeff Bezos would not qualify for astronaut wings under the FAA’s amended rules.
