In the last two weeks, we have had two successful attempts to fly to the edge of the Universe. This is usually determined by the so-called Kármán line at an altitude of 100 km, but there are efforts to reduce it to 80 km (this was enough, for example, for the title of astronaut in the Astronaut Wings Program). Virgin Galactic Richarda bronsona surpassed only the lower one, in height 86 km. He has not yet looked beyond the generally accepted frontier of the Universe. Jeff Bezos and his Blue Origin, however, crossed the standard 100km limit and reached a height of up to 107 km. Nevertheless, the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) does not want to assign the title of astronaut to any of them, including some crew members. It was on Tuesday, July 20, when Jeff Bezos flew, that she changed the rules.
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FAA Commercial Space Astronaut Wings Program was established in 2004 and is the first amendment to the rules since its inception. It is no longer enough to cross the 50-mile (80 km) mark, but for the astronaut title it is necessary to “perform activities during the flight that are essential for public safety or contribute to the safety of manned spaceflight”. Basically, he does not want to give the title of astronaut to anyone who just looks into the Universe, but only to give it to those who do something useful. Space tourists will be unlucky.
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The awards received by Branson and Bezos were only awards given by their own companies, but not by the official “astronaut wings” titles awarded by the FAA. However, Branson and Bezos do not have to throw flint into rye yet, because they are counting on honorary versions of the titles, which in both cases would be appropriate (they can be awarded for extraordinary contribution to commercial space aviation).
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