Katy Perry, Lauren Sanchez, Gayle King and the rest of the Blue Origins crew who flew to space on Monday may not technically be astronauts, according to federal government rules.
Despite billionaire Jeff Bezos dubbing the all-female crew “astronauts” following the successful, 11-minute flight on Monday, the details of the mission may disqualify the women from being officially recognized by astronauts by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Since none of the crew members actually played a direct role in piloting the flight, Perry and the rest of the women may find themselves classified as “space travelers” rather than astronauts, according to federal rules.
The New Shepard rocket and capsule were flying autonomously, taking direction from the ground crew.
The crew on Blue Origins included, right to left, Kerianne Flynn, Lauren Sanchez, Katy Perry, Amanda Nguyen, Aisha Bowe and Gayle King. Blue Origin
Under the FAA rules, Perry and the rest of the women on the flight may not technically qualify as astronauts. Blue Origin
Back in 2004, the FAA launched its Commercial Space Astronaut Wings program, formally recognizing anyone who has flown into outers space as an astronaut, a title typically reserved for NASA’s best.
After Blue Origins and Virgin Galactic began normalizing commercial space travel, the FAA updated its rules in 2021, requiring crew members to prove that they “demonstrated activities during flight that were essential to public safety, or contributed to human space flight safety.”
The later requirement remains vague, and it would normally be up to the FAA’s discretion on whether the women of the New Shepard 31 mission fulfilled that qualification.
The FAA, however, shuttered its Commercial Space Astronaut Wings program at the end of 2021, instead adding any new visitor to space on its “Human Spaceflight Recognition” list.
Lauren and Bowe share a laugh as they float in the weightlessness of space. Blue Origin
Prior to the end of the program, Bezos and many of his Blue Origins guests and clients had been awarded their wings.
Even if the FAA doesn’t recognize the women as astronauts, they would technically be recognized as such under the definition of the word in the Merriam-Webster dictionary, which defines an astronaut as “a person who travels beyond the earth’s atmosphere,” or “a trainee for spaceflight.”
The distinction of who does and who doesn’t deserve to be named an astronaut has remained a hot-button issue following the rise of space tourism, with many criticizing the ventures as luxuries for the rich and powerful.
The New Shepard 31 was the first, all-female crew mission since a cosmonaut’s solo flight in 1963. AP
The crew posed together in the Texas desert after a successful landing. HANDOUT/BLUE ORIGIN HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
The criticism was echoed following Monday’s flight that saw the three celebrities — along with civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen, ex-NASA engineer Aisha Bowe and film producer Kerianne Flynn — become the first all-women crew to visit space since Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova took a solo flight in 1963.
“Anybody that’s criticizing it doesn’t really understand what is happening here,” King told People following the trip.
“We can all speak to the response we’re getting from young women from young girls about what this represents.”
The fiancée of Blue Origin founder and billionaire Jeff Bezos also responded to some of those criticisms shortly after the launch and said it only got her more “fired up.”
“I get really fired up. I would love to have them come to Blue Origin and see the thousands of employees that don’t just work here but they put their heart and soul into this vehicle,” Sanchez, 55, told the outlet.
