@tinman faints https://www.dailymail.co.uk/science...FAA-changes-rules-awards-astronaut-wings.html Jeff Bezos is NOT an astronaut! FAA changes rules for how it awards astronaut wings - and says the Blue Origin flight crew don't comply as the ship was entirely controlled from the ground Bezos and the crew of Blue Origin took off at 9.12am EST on Tuesday, July 20 They flew in the fully autonomous New Shepard rocket controlled from Earth The new FAA Astronaut rules require a contribution to human spaceflight safety This means passengers who aren't essential to operations don't qualify for wings It doesn't mean the crew of the New Shepard or even the Virgin Galactic VSS Unity didn't go to space, just whether they qualify as an astronaut with the FAA By RYAN MORRISON FOR MAILONLINE PUBLISHED: 05:58 EDT, 23 July 2021 | UPDATED: 09:26 EDT, 23 July 2021 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. *** 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. more at the link
The whole spectacle was disgusting. One small step for billionaires, one large step back for humanity.
I don't need them to pay the wealth tax, but paying as much as a normal guy would be nice. Capital gains tax need to be raised for over 500K
What a hater Obviously it costs money to fly into space , you got to pay for like kilos of rocket fuel I mean it cost money to sit front row at an Usher concert too Is that ho going to playa hate on the front row ?
"Jeff Bezos, Fresh From Space, Offers to Waive $2 Billion for NASA Moon Contract": https://www.wsj.com/articles/jeff-b...a-moon-contract-11627379891?mod=hp_lead_pos12 excerpt: Jeff Bezos offered to waive $2 billion in fees over the next two years to win his space company, Blue Origin LLC, a joint contract for the NASA lunar-lander program that was awarded solely to Elon Musk’s SpaceX. The billionaire founder of Amazon.com Inc. said the National Aeronautics and Space Administration should return to an original plan to dual source its Artemis program that aims to return U.S. astronauts to the moon’s surface this decade. The agency awarded SpaceX the contract after opting to go with a single supplier due to budget constraints. In an open letter Monday to Bill Nelson, NASA’s administrator, Mr. Bezos said his fee-waiving offer would remove those constraints. “I believe this mission is important. I am honored to offer these contributions and am grateful to be in a financial position to be able to do so,” Mr. Bezos said. He added that Blue Origin would be able to achieve a human moon landing in 2024. Mr. Bezos’s appeal came a week after he traveled into space, as Blue Origin, into which he has poured billions, strives to open space travel to high-net-worth individuals. “Blue Origin is committed to building a future where millions of people live and work in space to benefit the Earth,” Mr. Bezos said. “We are convinced that, to advance America’s future in space, NASA must now quickly and assuredly return to the Moon.” more at the link
Whether he was called an astronaut or not, he's never going to be accorded the respect we give to actual astronauts.
I don't have a problem with this and I don't think astronaut wings is that big of a draw for going into space. It's like people who run road races. I think if they stop giving participation medals there still will be people who do them. I will say it again though for all the people downplaying these flights and complaining about "billionaires going into space" this is a necessary step if we are ever going to be more than just an Earthbound species. The first commercial air flights weren't cheap and were largely only for the realm of the rich. Prior to deregulation of US airlines a minority of Americans had ever flown. Commercialization of space is going to drive investment and R&D into practical having humans living off the planet.
damn , a smart person speaks! rich people get the goods first. cause they got money. money makes the world go around, dumb art history majors know that too remember cell phones before they were mainstream? @Os Trigonum @Jontro in the VIP and the cheapskates standing at the bar staring at the stage