Jeff Bezos' astronaut wings might only be 'honorary' after the FAA changed the definition of an astronaut
Jeff Bezos and Blue Origin's first-ever New Shepard crew may only qualify for "honorary" astronaut wings from the FAA.
The FAA updated its astronaut criteria on the day that Bezos rocketed to the edge of space.
The new guidelines make a clear distinction between "flight crew" and "spaceflight participants."
Jeff Bezos might have reached the edge of space, but his astronaut status may only be "honorary," according to new criteria from the Federal Aviation Administration.
On the day Bezos launched, July 20, the Federal Aviation Administration updated its guidelines on whether future space travelers can join the ranks of astronaut. It was the first significant change to the rules since 2004.
The FAA's Commercial Astronaut Wings Program awards wing pins to officially recognize commercial-spacecraft passengers as astronauts. For Bezos and the three other passengers who launched on Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket on Tuesday, the new updates may affect their eligibility for the official wings.
The Astronaut Wings program requires that astronauts be "flight crew" aboard an FAA-licensed flight and soar at least 50 miles above Earth's surface. Bezos's flight meets those requirements. But the updated criteria also require that flight crew will have"demonstrated activities during flight that were essential to public safety, or contributed to human space flight safety."
Bezos and his fellow travelers - his brother Mark, 82-year-old aviator Wally Funk, and 18-year-old customer Oliver Daemen - were probably not essential to the safety of their launch. The New Shepard craft is completely autonomous and had flown without humans 15 times before Tuesday's launch. Bezos and the other passengers may only qualify as spaceflight participants, not flight crew.
"When the program was first created in 2004, its focus was to recognize flight crewmembers who furthered the FAA's mission to promote the safety of vehicles designed to carry humans," an FAA spokesperson told Insider via email. "This change aligns more directly to the FAA's role to protect public safety during commercial space operations."
However, the FAA's amended guidelines also added the option for honorary astronaut wings, which can be awarded to people who don't meet all eligibility requirements, but whose contributions merit recognition. The decision on whether to award honorary wings falls to the agency's Associate Administrator for Commercial Space Transportation.
Blue Origin has not commented on whether it nominated its first passengers for FAA Commercial astronaut wings, but if it does, they may have to be "honorary" status.
Blue Origin is producing its own winged pins for its future space travelers, which were given to Bezos and his crew in a ceremony after their landing.
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