Transport Secretary weighs
It was very high how things were standing till Thursday evening, when the US Transport Department Secretary Sean Dafi shared some views on the social media site X.
Dafi wrote, “The final FAA guidelines under the Commercial Space Space Person Wings Program were clear: Crimeberries traveling in space would have demonstrated activities during the flight that were necessary for public safety, or contributed to human space flight security,” Dafi wrote. “The crew that flew into space on an automatic flight by Blue origin this week was brave and glam, but you cannot identify as a astronaut. They do not meet FAA astronaut norms.”
So there was this: the leading American official on transport, announcing that Perry et. Al. There were no astronauts. This is a very striking statement.
For the introduction of Federal Aviation Administration, an agency within the US Transport Department, Dafi Leeds, has earlier stated that it will not take a share in determining whether people who fly on subboital flights are astronauts. The agency makes it clear on its human spaceflight page, stating: “FAA no longer nominated anyone as a 'astronaut'. Also, FAA does not define where the space starts.”
Just to retreat slightly, the FAA created a commercial “astronaut wings” program in 2004 to identify two pilots of Spaceshipone, Mike Melvil and Brian Bini, which flew a vehicle above 50 law miles (80 km). After that time, the program recognized private citizens, who flew on the Unity spacecraft of the Virgin Galactic, the new Shepard of Blue Origin and the Orbital Crew Dragon vehicle of SpaceX. You flew, and you found astronaut wings.
Then, in December 2021, the agency stopped releasing wings. The agency said, “With the arrival of the Commercial Space Tourism Age starting in 2022, the federal aviation administration will now recognize individuals who arrive in space on their website instead of releasing commercial space astronauts, instead of releasing the wings,” the agency said. “Any person who is at the FAA-Lishens received or permitted launch and reaches 50 laws above the Earth's surface will be listed on the site.”