Why Katy Perry, Lauren Sanchez and Blue Origin’s all-female crew may not actually be astronauts, according to the FAA rules

Katy Perry, Lauren Sanchez, Gayle King and nan remainder of nan Blue Origins unit who flew to abstraction connected Monday may not technically beryllium astronauts, according to national authorities rules.

Despite billionaire Jeff Bezos dubbing nan all-female unit “astronauts” pursuing nan successful, 11-minute formation connected Monday, nan specifications of nan ngo whitethorn disqualify nan women from being officially recognized by astronauts by nan Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Since nary of nan unit members really played a nonstop domiciled successful piloting nan flight, Perry and nan remainder of nan women whitethorn find themselves classified arsenic “space travelers” alternatively than astronauts, according to national rules.

The New Shepard rocket and capsule were flying autonomously, taking guidance from nan crushed crew.

Back successful 2004, nan FAA launched its Commercial Space Astronaut Wings program, formally recognizing anyone who has flown into outers abstraction arsenic an astronaut, a title typically reserved for NASA’s best.

After Blue Origins and Virgin Galactic began normalizing commercialized abstraction travel, nan FAA updated its rules successful 2021, requiring unit members to beryllium that they “demonstrated activities during formation that were basal to nationalist safety, aliases contributed to quality abstraction formation safety.” 

The later request remains vague, and it would usually beryllium up to nan FAA’s discretion connected whether nan women of nan New Shepard 31 ngo fulfilled that qualification.

The FAA, however, shuttered its Commercial Space Astronaut Wings programme astatine nan extremity of 2021, alternatively adding immoderate caller visitant to abstraction connected its “Human Spaceflight Recognition” list.

Prior to nan extremity of nan program, Bezos and galore of his Blue Origins guests and clients had been awarded their wings.

Even if nan FAA doesn’t admit nan women arsenic astronauts, they would technically beryllium recognized arsenic specified nether nan meaning of nan connection successful nan Merriam-Webster dictionary, which defines an astronaut arsenic “a personification who travels beyond nan earth’s atmosphere,” aliases “a trainee for spaceflight.” 

The favoritism of who does and who doesn’t merit to beryllium named an astronaut has remained a hot-button rumor pursuing nan emergence of abstraction tourism, pinch galore criticizing nan ventures arsenic luxuries for nan rich | and powerful.

The disapproval was echoed pursuing Monday’s formation that saw the 3 celebrities — on pinch civilian authorities activistic Amanda Nguyen, ex-NASA technologist Aisha Bowe and movie shaper Kerianne Flynn — go nan first all-women unit to sojourn abstraction since Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova took a solo formation successful 1963.

“Anybody that’s criticizing it doesn’t really understand what is happening here,” King told People pursuing nan trip.

“We tin each speak to nan consequence we’re getting from young women from young girls astir what this represents.”

The fiancée of Blue Origin founder and billionaire Jeff Bezos besides responded to immoderate of those criticisms soon aft nan launch and said it only sewage her much “fired up.”

“I get really fired up. I would emotion to person them travel to Blue Origin and spot nan thousands of labor that don’t conscionable activity present but they put their bosom and psyche into this vehicle,” Sanchez, 55, told nan outlet.