{"id":22649,"date":"2021-07-23T00:18:17","date_gmt":"2021-07-22T16:18:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/who-makes-the-cut-for-faa-astronaut-wings\/"},"modified":"2021-07-23T00:18:17","modified_gmt":"2021-07-22T16:18:17","slug":"who-makes-the-cut-for-faa-astronaut-wings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/who-makes-the-cut-for-faa-astronaut-wings\/","title":{"rendered":"Who makes the cut for FAA Astronaut Wings?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Over the last two weeks, we saw the first two private commercial space flights. Both companies pinned their participants with their versions of \u201cAstronaut Wings\u201d but are they real astronauts? The FAA just released their requirements for the title of astronaut.<\/p>\n

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Commercial spaceflight in the United States is governed by the Federal Aviation Administration. They are also in charge of awarding the FAA Commercial Astronaut Wings to those that fly. While both Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin can claim those that fly on their vehicles are astronauts, it doesn\u2019t really hold any weight until the FAA agrees with them.<\/p>\n

What are the FAA\u2019s requirements for being an astronaut?<\/strong> <\/p>\n

The FAA lays out three requirements for gaining your Commercial astronaut wings. First, you must meet the flight crew qualifications and training under Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) part 460.<\/p>\n

Secondly, you must fly as flight crew on an FAA-licensed vehicle above 50 miles.<\/p>\n

And third, you must demonstrate activities during flight that were essential to public safety, or have contributed to human space flight safety.<\/p>\n

What does this mean?<\/h2>\n

The long worded explanation can be simplified to this: be a member of a crew flying to space, fly higher than 50 miles, and contribute to the safety of the flight or public. The third requirement is certainly the most confusing one. Reading it brings up more questions than answers. What does it mean to have \u201ccontributed to human space flight safety\u201d?<\/p>\n

This could simply mean you followed the procedures and training you received from the company before the flight. The third requirement could also be interpreted to mean you didn\u2019t do anything that could have caused harm to those in the vehicle or those viewing the launch. How exactly the FAA plans to interprete these vauge requirements remains to be seen.<\/p>\n

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