Is Jeff Bezos an astronaut now? What qualifies you to be an astronaut? These questions seem so simple now that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has updated its terms on who qualifies to be an astronaut. Spoiler alert: Bezos does not.
Astronaut definition change
The FAA set new rules for who qualifies to be an astronaut on the same day that Bezos and his Blue Origin rocket crew shot up into space. The billionaire did go to space, as the FAA considers space to begin at 50 miles above sea level, and he reached 62 miles above sea level. However, he did not receive his Commercial Space Astronaut Wings badge because he did not “demonstrate activities during flight that were essential to public safety, or contributed to human space flight safety.”
Billionaire space race
A billionaire space race has developed now that the richest people are trying to fund space expeditions privately. Bezos became the second billionaire to go to space on a rocket that he funded: Virgin Galactic’s Richard Branson beat him to the punch by making it there just nine days earlier. But that’s not the end of what Bezos has planned for his space missions.
Will there be a NASA moon mission soon?
Now that his first trip to space with people on the rocket was successful, Bezos has asked NASA for a moon lander contract and has offered to cover $2 billion of the development and testing costs. Bezos says that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration program should return to its original plan and try to get astronauts back on the moon this decade.
Is the billionaire space race good for our future in space exploration? Is it accelerating our progress and leading to more opportunities? Or is it becoming too much of a power struggle between rich guys trying to pull off publicity stunts? Let us know what you think!
