FAA Amends Policy on Qualified Persons for Commercial Astronaut Wings to Fly in Space Same Day as Blue Origin Space Flight

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On the same day as Blue Origin’s first manned space flight, the Federal Aviation Administration announced a change to its Commercial Astronaut Wings program for the first time in 17 years. This change at the dawn of the era of space tourism means that the US government might not officially recognize that billionaires Jeff Bezos and Sir Richard Branson became astronauts when they exploded in space earlier this month – this.

Before the FAA releases the new restrictions, Bezos, along with three other teammates who flew with the Blue Origin founder, would have qualified to receive commercial astronaut wings from the FAA. It is because travelers flew at an altitude of at least 50 miles (80.5 kilometers), the limit of space recognized by the United States.

This was true until a few days ago.

As of July 20, the FAA published another critical criterion: citing the new command.

Astronaut wings were first awarded in the early 1960s to Mercury 7 astronauts Alan B. Shepard, Jr., and Virgil “Gus” Grissom by the US Navy and the US Air Force, respectively. It has become a rite of passage for all NASA astronauts since the Apollo missions on the space shuttle program. The FAA created the Commercial Astronaut Wings program in 2004 after Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipOne became the first private spacecraft to reach space.

David Mackay and Mike Masucci, the two pilots on Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo flight on July 11, had already received their astronaut wings. One of the mission specialists, Beth Moses, had also done so on a previous test flight. But the other three mission specialists, including Branson, were first-time aviators. and were on board either to evaluate the astronaut experience or to conduct suborbital scientific research. None of these activities would explicitly qualify them to receive their wings under the new FAA order.

The four crew members aboard Blue Origin’s first crewed flight did even less during their 10-minute suborbital flight. Company CEO Bob Smith explained in a pre-launch mission briefing that the New Shepard the spacecraft “is an autonomous vehicle. There is really nothing for a crew member to do.”

An FAA spokesperson said the change was made because it “aligns more directly with the role of the FAA to protect public safety during commercial space operations.” The FAA did not respond to an investigation into why the change went into effect on the same day as the Blue Origin flight.

When asked what the policy change means for newer space tourists, an FAA spokesperson said that in order to get astronaut wings, an appointment is required.

“There are currently no FAA appointments to consider,” the spokesperson said.

There is a caveat in the new regulations that may still allow Branson, Bezos and some of their teammates to be officially recognized by the FAA as astronauts. The new decree allows the agency to award an honorary prize to “persons whose contribution to commercial human spaceflight deserves special recognition”. It is at the sole discretion of the FAA Associate Administrator for Commercial Space Transportation to determine who qualifies for “Honorary” Astronaut Wings.

Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment on whether or not they were planning to nominate any of their recent crew members, including Bezos and Branson, to the program.

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